Heather: Our brilliant week on tour with David Roberts

On Sunday 6th December, whilst I was in Manchester preparing for a brilliant night at a Yeah Yeah Yeahs gig, Chris was driving down to Carlilse to meet illustrator and author David Roberts at the train station. This was the beginning of our final tour of 2009!

I joined the guys on Monday morning in Dumfries where we spent our first day. Both sessions were brilliant, with lots of drawing and Chris trying out his storytelling skills. It set the tone for what was to be a fantastic week of events.

On Wednesday we moved on to East Renfrewshire. I was a bit sad to leave the beautiful Dumfries and Galloway scenery but the four events we did in and around Glasgow were equally as great.

I often think that when you see an illustrator doing what they do best it makes it obvious how difficult drawing is. What was so wonderful about David's events was that he showed every child, and Chris and I too, that even we could draw pictures. Everybody drew Dirty Bertie along with David, and a few people tried their hand at Troll and Tyrannasaurus Drip. Although they may not have been as perfect as David's art work, he made sure we all knew they were equally as valid. It was lovely to see so many children getting involved and feeling encouraged.

Thank you David for a fantastic week, and thank you to all of the pupils who drew pictures and shouted out enthusiastically during Dirty Bertie.

I haven't even tried to convey how much fun we had because it's just too difficult. Perhaps this wee tour video will do that for me! http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/podcasts/video/david-roberts-tour

Other News:

The winner of the 2009 Royal Mail Awards older readers category, Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray, has been shortlisted for another award – the Lincolnshire Young People’s Book Award. Check out the other books on the shortlist here.

The shortlist of the Angus Book Award 2010 has been announced! The winner, chosen by third year pupils throughout Angus secondary schools, will be announced in May in Kirriemuir. The shortlist is:
Crossing the Line by Gillian Philip
Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks
Guantanamo Boy by Anne Perera
Numbers by Rachel WardHappy Reading!

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. We'll be back in the new year with even more events, tours and blogs!