Into the west to celebrate stories and make magic

Let’s all daydream again, writes Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde

The Whole Wild World bus tour is a core part of my term as Laureate na nÓg – a project that aims to spark creativity in children and young people, to bring books, and the authors and illustrators who create them, to children who may not always have access to them and to raise the profile of Irish authors and illustrators generally.

Illustrator and author Mary Murphy sums it up perfectly: “I love the prospect of artists travelling to children on their home turf, and of creating work with children who rarely – or never – meet artists. Last week at a Lucan school event a kid asked me: ‘Hang on a minute... are you telling me you get paid to use your imagination?’ I want to witness some ‘Hey, I can be an artist too’, lightbulb moments in Ireland’s remoter areas.”

I also wanted to have fun with friends old and new along the journey. On board the bus I have gathered illustrators, writers, former Laureates and brandnew debut talents. Debut author Tristan Rosenstock is one of those and is looking forward to boarding the bus.

“I’ve really enjoyed meeting young readers at festivals and as part of World Book Day and hearing what they thought of my book. I wrote it as Gaeilge and

I’m so excited to be joining other Irish-language writers on the tour with our wonderful Laureate na nÓg leading the way,” he says. “This is a golden era for Irish chil– dren’s books in both languages and we have lots to celebrate.”

Over the course of this twoweek tour, more than 35 children’s authors and illustrators will join me to travel the 1,400km of coastline that makes up the Wild Atlantic Way. Winding our way from Malin Head to Mizen Head, we’ll stop at more than 35 venues along the route – including schools, libraries, bookshops and large cultural venues – dreaming up new worlds and stories together with the young readers we encounter.

And along the way we will gift books – one book for every kilometre we travel.

Award-winning picturebook maker Chris Haughton can’t contain himself. “I’m very excited to be going on this bus tour, stopping along the way to do drawings and readings and no doubt causing all sorts of mayhem with young people down the Wild Atlantic Way,” he says. “As well as meeting everyone along the way I’m excited to be going on tour with all my fellow authors and illustrators, especially the ones I haven’t seen in ages and the newer ones I haven’t met yet.”

During the pandemic, the big wide world that is usually open to young people became smaller, closer and much less colourful. Restrictions kept children home from school, from their friends and family, and removed the freewheeling fun that is characteristic of childhood. Live creative events a key source of income for artists, not to mention connection with their readers – were cancelled or postponed indefinitely.

Now, I want to get us all on the road and daydreaming again, about amazing new places, characters and adventures.

Along the way we will gift books – one book for every kilometre we travel

This adventure brings together my two favourite groups of people – the children of Ireland, and the writers and illustrators that we have in such abundance – to shape new stories and share old ones. I can think of nowhere better on earth than the west coast of Ireland to get us dreaming about the worlds around us, and no one better to share it with.

Author Leona Forde, who will also be joining us, captures it imaginatively: “Running away to join the circus has always been more of a fantasy than a reality, but being part of the Whole Wild World tour is allowing that dream to come true. As a new writer I’m so lucky to have been welcomed with such warmth into the community of children’s writers and illustrators. I can’t wait to ignite imaginations with my new friends.”

The ‘Whole Wild World’ tour runs April 15-28 and is an initiative of the Arts Council, is managed and delivered by Children’s Books Ireland, and supported by the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and Foras na Gaeilge. childrenslaureate.ie