On November 20th, a group of S1 pupils from Smithycroft Secondary School had the fantastic opportunity to stroll over to Riddrie Public Library to engage in a session with author Ross Mackenzie.
Ross is a captivating storyteller and kept the pupils group enthralled for the whole session by sharing the memories of how he became a reader and by transporting us into the magical worlds he created. When he unveiled the storyline of his book “The Colour of Hope”, and proceeded to read a chapter of this book out loud to us, we were on the edge of our seats, curious to hear what was coming next!
The element that made Ross Mackenzie into a reader was the excitement he felt when his P5 teacher would read “The Witches”, out loud to his classroom – a great testimony to the impact expressive storytelling can have on a young mind, flicking a switch that turns a child into an enthusiastic, curious reader.
The session continued with some creative writing inspired by “The Colour of Hope”, with Smithycroft pupils having a go at finding a story as to why a villain would steal colours from the world. Here are some of the explanations the participants came up with (click on image to open a large version in a new tab)!
At the end of the session, a Q&A allowed kids to ask Ross some questions – here are some of his answers to inspire everyone! When asked how to find what story to write next and how to find a story to write, Ross’ advice was to ask questions about the world, because questions help dig out stories; a beautiful metaphor likened this to “panning for gold”, a worthy nugget of gold might appear when sifting through all the questions and ideas travelling around the imaginative mind, so just give it a try!
Mehreen, S3
The Night Circus by Erin Morgensten “I really loved this book. It’s the definition of a fantasy book. It’s so magical and really transports you to another world. Definitely my favourite book.” Isha, S4
(apologies for the poor quality photos!)
On National Poetry Day we had a visit from Anita Govan. Ms Longo’s S3 put their heart & soul into improvising and performing their own poems. Anita presented us with a copy of her book. What a fantastic day.
Alex Nye visited us for Book Week Scotland. S2 & S3 loved Alex’s ‘Art of the Ghost Story’ workshop. Miss Cameron & Mr Clarke’s classes came up with brilliant questions. A fascinating insight into being an author. Well done all!
A December highlight was a visit from Metaphrog (John & Sandra). It was amazing to learn all about the creative process. Our audience included our EAL Book Group, and our own published graphic novelists now in S4, who had worked with John and Sandra previously. It felt like a lovely family reunion.
