LEARNINGISONE BIGADVENTURE
WEDNESDAY
Embellished sandals www.topshop.com Ted Baker navy court www.asos.com Black Gem slingback, www.zara.com Red floral mule, www.riverisland.com IT WAS when Grace started school that I became fascinated with the whole school experience, in particular how different every child in a standard class can be, some finding school work trickier than others but each with their own individual talents. I ended up doing lots of research on specific learning difficulties (the umbrella term used by schools for dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and ADHD) and it became clear that, while there were a lot of great books out there for adults and young adults, there wasn’t much out there for primary-aged children who wanted a good story about kids they could identify with, characters they could easily see themselves in. Not princesses or ace footballers but real kids, just like them. It was at this point that Vera popped into my head, and with her came the rest of The Daydream Club. Oh, and some penguins too. Did you know that five per cent of the UK population is dyslexic, 10 per cent dyspraxic, one per cent autistic and between one and three per cent have ADHD? That’s a lot of people – and a lot of kids. There was excitement from the parents I spoke to as I was writing Vera, to have a book that would help to open up discussions with their kids. It’s great to feel that I’ve written something that’s able to make a difference. I’d love for the book to be stocked in every school up and down the country, to be used by teachers and kids alike. I knew early on I wanted to have the book illustrated. One weekend, at a church craft fair, I Writer Jane Evans and illustrator Ruth Mutch’s book aims to help kids understand learning difficulties. It features a girl exploring the world in her own way. Jane tells how her daughter Grace’s experiences at school inspired the book was drawn to a stall selling cards with fabulous cartoon penguins on them.
I’d already decided I wanted penguins as characters as a way of reflecting its main theme, and here was a young, extremely talented, autistic artist who specialised in penguins.
Because Ruth was involved in the process from (almost) the beginning, it felt like a true partnership. The first time I saw Ruth’s drawings of Vera I thought, “That’s it, that’s her.” It’s been an absolute joy working with Ruth and I look forward to doing it again with the second book in the series.
Writing Vera McLuckie and the Daydream Club has taught me so much about life – that if you have a dream, you’ve just got to go for it.
I guess that’s the main message of the book – that everybody’s good at something, no matter who you are, and sometimes you’ve just got to be brave enough to have a go.
My daughter Grace is my harshest critic. She really enjoyed reading Vera but is quite definite that it’s not her favourite book – she wants me to write a detective book instead. I love the fact your kids will always help you keep your feet firmly on the ground. ● Vera McLuckie and the Daydream Club is available now from Your Stories Matter, via online retailers and all good bookstores in paperback for £6.99. Visit www.yourstoriesmatter. org and follow on Twitter @ysm_books