Janet’s tales of landmark tower being shared with kids for free
A CHILDREN’S author and former Leicestershire resident has been using her time under lockdown to revisit a story that she wrote back in 1988.
Janet Wilkinson retyped her story, ‘What Grandad Says About Old John Tower,’ copying in photographs of the original illustrations before submitting it to a publisher.
The publisher expressed an interest in the manuscript, but sadly Janet could not afford the £2,500 fee, so now she is kindly offering the manuscript to children to read for free.
The subject of the story, ‘Old John Tower,’ stands in Bradgate Park on the southern edge of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire.
Bradgate was once the home of Lady Jane Grey, the ‘nine day’ Queen of England. The ruins of her house also lie within the park.
Janet, who now lives in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said: “The
Old John Tower was an emblem on the badge of Heatherbrook Primary School. My daughter attended the school at that time.
“I was born in Leicester in 1951, and lived there for 61 years. Bradgate Park was a favourite haunt of my family, and I have many happy memories of our visits to the park.”
During the period when Janet wrote the story, she had aspirations to write a series of ‘What Grandad Says About’ stories. She also wrote nine other children’s stories about animal antics, which her late husband illustrated. During the first lockdown, Janet started writing poetry, and produced an anthology of 42 poems, penned by herself and her husband. She then gave the work to friends and family for Christmas. Janet said: “I recently decided to retype all of my stories on my iPad, and try to get them published.
“As ‘What Grandad Says About Old John Tower’ holds fond memories, I sent this one off first.
“The fee is out of the question, so I am looking at ways of sharing the story freely to as many children as possible.”
Bradgate Park was a favourite haunt of my family, and I have many happy memories of our visits to the park
Janet Wilkinson