Publishing Venture Is A New Chapter For Fenton Pupils
A writer’s passion for wildlife has inspired pupils at a Haverfordwest primary school to produce their own literature based on the natural world.
Children in Year 4 at Fenton CP School studied some of the works of author and zoologist Nicola Davies before writing their own poetry.
They then went a step further and published their work in a special anthology entitled ‘Heart of the Wild’.
And they were thrilled to show copies of their book to Nicola Davies herself at a recent writing workshop at The Lab in Haverfordwest.
The workshop also gave the pupils the opportunity to promote their work and ‘pop-up’ publishing venture to visitors and passers-by.
Matthew Jones, Year 4 teacher at Fenton, said the pupils were delighted to meet Nicola after reading her books, and were really pleased by her reaction to their poetry.
“She thought it was a lovely and interesting idea, and she was pleased to see the children showing confidence in their writing at such a young age,” he said.
“It’s been a great project because it has allowed them to create something which is really unique and of a really high quality. They went through the whole process of making a book – writing it, choosing a cover and looking at printing costs for example – and they now have a product which they can take massive pride in.”
The workshop was hosted by Confluence at The Lab, in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council. A number of parents and relatives also attended the event and did some writing alongside the children.
Eva John, literacy adviser at the County Council, said they were delighted to welcome Nicola, author of ‘A First Book of Nature’ with Mark Hearld, ‘Ice Bear’ and most recently, ‘Perfect’.
“Nicola’s ability to communicate her passion for wildlife and conservation of natural habitats is inspirational, as is her depth and breadth of knowledge of the natural world,” said Eva.
There was also an after-school session for the general public hosted by the West Wales Children’s Book Group.
Nicola showed participants the pre-production proofs of her new books which are in the process of being published: the beautiful ‘First Book of Animals,’ and ‘King of the Sky,’ a story set in Wales.
The latter deals with an Italian boy’s loneliness on coming to live in coal mining area between the two world wars, and how he finds a sense of belonging through becoming involved in racing pigeons,
The story has been turned into a theatrical production which is touring Wales and has been performed at Pembroke Dock Community School and the Hay Festival.
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