Reviews

Following on from Philip Reeve, attention switched to one of the most popular authors amongst early readers, Kes Gray.

The audience consisted mainly of families with young children, most of whom know Gray thanks to the stories of Daisy, a young girl whose opinionated style endears her to her fans, whilst sometimes infuriating her mother during conversations that many parents can relate to.

Keeping young children engrossed for a solid hour is no easy task; however his opening demonstrations of how to throw light objects at pace such as playing cards, cigarette cards, ginger nut biscuits and cream crackers certainly helped maintain attention.

When challenged to throw a cracker further, Gray even briefly adjourned to head out onto High Street and aim a cracker towards a nearby rooftop, only slightly missing!

A very popular section of the talk and a great way to introduce yourself.

Reminiscent of author Nicholas Allan's talks in Suffolk libraries last year, which broke the ice with magic tricks, both authors instantly appealed to their target readers.

Eat Your Peas

The road to being a successful children's author takes many forms; Gray was previously a writer for TV advertisements, being responsible for the famous building society 'we wanna be together' script in the 1990s.

Gray's initial literary breakthrough was with Daisy in the title Eat Your Peas, which was read along with audience participation.

Excerpts were also read from last year's 006 and a Bit along with recent releases Tiger Ways and the first Daisy book for older children, Daisy and the Trouble with Life.

Kes Gray

Gray explained the inspiration behind the first seven chapters of the latter, all of which are short due to our hero requiring regular trips to the toilet due to an upset stomach: when he was growing up, Gray would sometimes look for loose coins on shop floors in order to pay for sweets, but one time found a half-eaten lollipop too appealing to resist.

Unfortunately this wasn't a hygienic option, and a tummy upset was to follow. A warning for the children there!

The story of Daisy dominated the majority of the talk, as Gray explained how his publishers regularly approached him for additional Daisy stories.

Humorous tales of how they encouraged him to think of new ideas for Daisy's adventures followed, such as insisting he wore a Daisy wig, an ill-fitting t-shirt, fake sideburns and moustache, and dark glasses, all of which were worn to create a full disguise towards the end of the talk.

Kes Gray finished to warm applause, and stayed to sign any books or posters afterwards whilst engaging in conversation with those attending.

A thoroughly enjoyable hour, well organised by the Ipswich Children's Book Group who maintained the connection with illustrator Nick Sharratt. Sharratt provided the artwork for the Daisy books and has also worked with 2006 Ip-art visitor Sue Heap.

Sharratt also illustrates Jacqueline Wilson titles. Am I asking too much for a visit from the Children's Laureate at next year’s Ip-art?