Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Freaky - the star of the show

Another day, another school. This time Sacred Heart, Pymble, where I was greeted with much enthusiasm and excitement. (They even had a parking spot reserved for me!) And, oh, what a gorgeous library - I started tingling the moment I walked through the door!

Book Week and school visits are such a great opportunity to see what works, and what doesn't - to really get an understanding of what makes your readership tick. And I am always amazed at how different every school you visit is - how different the reactions are. One school might fall about laughing over a story or anecdote, where the next school may barely crack a smile over the same material. What interests one group enormously, may seemingly wash over the next.

I find this intriguing and such a useful exercise in discovering what elements of my books appeal most widely. This year, the "star" book - the one that has had the most kids talking at the most schools - is Freaky. There seems to be a lot of excitement surrounding the possibility of a story containing giant spiders. The kids at Sacred Heart certainly followed this trend and seemed to really enjoy meeting my very hairy pet spider, Charlie!

Thanks, Sacred Heart - I had so much fun sharing my stories with you all.

Tomorrow - Galston.

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