Children at Lindow Primary School enjoyed an entertaining visit from acclaimed children's author and comedy writer Adam Perrott. He had been invited to open the school's newly refurbished library.
Delivering an engaging and very funny assembly, Perrott's enthusiasm had the children hooked right from the start. Both staff and pupils greatly enjoyed his well pitched jokes and the readings he gave from his published books. There were some brilliant audience participation sections. Furthermore, an insightful question and answer session allowed the children the opportunity to ask Adam what life as an author was like, which drew some interesting and amusing responses.
During the assembly, Perrott read excerpts from one of his titles, The Odds, the tale of a family of Professional Pranksters who delight in playing tricks on the townspeople of Trott.
The readings proved very popular, with all the children listening attentively, and hoping that The Odds series would become a feature in their new library!
At the end of his assembly, Adam also had the task of opening of the school's newly refurbished library. As the children gazed on, Perrott encouraged them to begin a rousing countdown and the excitement was palpable as he tore the red tape.
Headteacher Darren Morgan described the importance of giving all children the opportunity to find a catalyst 'magic book' that could set them off with reading. He said, "Until each individual child finds the right 'magic book' for them, it can seem difficult to get into reading. What may seem like a fantastic book for some, can turn out to be a chore for others to read."
Illustrating the need to expose children to a wide range of books is high on the school's agenda, from exciting fiction such as that of Perrott's, to non-fiction also. Mr Morgan went on to say, "Our children love reading, so the improved library will now be a successful resource to facilitate the children's hunger to read more books!" Mr Morgan hopes that Perrott's visit will have inspired even more children to regularly use the well stocked library.
Following the assembly Adam stayed in the hall for a book signing and many children were genuinely thrilled to receive their personalised signed copy.
In the case of Adam, the spark of his own love for books came at an early age during primary school but now his motivation for writing children's books is to "make kids laugh". He went on to say that, "Entertainment is my driving factor, in that I think it's important that children enjoy reading as much as possible."
When quizzed about his favourite author, (apart from himself of course!) he responded, "Roald Dahl is a strong basis for many fiction writers, but then again I think Philip Ardagh is quite an unsung hero as he writes some amazing stuff. With regards to comedy I particularly look up to the writers of The Mighty Boosh and Monty Python."
Under the stewardship of newly appointed pupil librarians, everyone at Lindow can now look forward to using their library. The visit of Adam Perrott was overwhelmingly positive and will surely be remembered for a long time to come!
Guest post by James Andrews.
