I was up in the Lakes this September and managed to get a cheap ticket to this event. It made a change from exerting myself on the fells! I had no idea what to expect but it was well worth going to. It was great to see in person such excellent writers and hear about their work. I I highlight some of the points from the first session Children’s Nature and Conservation Writing as it will be this generation that will be central to determining the future of nature and our place in the planet.
Dara McAnulty spoke about his book Wild Child, illustrated by Barry Falls. He stressed the important of encouraging young people to immerse themselves in the intricate world of nature. Truth is stranger than fiction. He wanted his book to be bright, vibrant and full of joy as well as a truthful representation of the world. There is an attitude that it is up to young people to save the world but you also have to worry about getting a job, a house. So it is important that you can live your life and still be interested in nature. You begin to care when you can feel the joy all around you. Joy is a powerful emotion, it gives us powerful memories and therefore hope. If you are depressed joy gets you to do things. David Attenborough says you need to fall in love with nature.
MG Leonard is a successful children’s author whose books are commercially successful and in many school libraries. She writes for children who feel that nature is not for them. The book up for nomination was Spark, part of the Twitchers Quartet which uses solving mysteries to draw readers in. She called it ‘education by stealth’. All we can do is plant seeds; you won’t know what will happen.
The actual winner was writer Kiran Millwood Hargrave and illustrator Tom de Freston for Leila and the Blue Fox, which tells the story of a young fox and a girl on an Arctic adventure, inspired by the true story of a fox that walked 2,000 miles from Norway to Canada in 76 days.
Land for What? Land for Whom? 