Thomas Docherty Visit

9th May 19

Darlinghurst children were fortunate enough to be
visited by Thomas Docherty who is an acclaimed author and illustrator of
children’s picture books including Little Boat, Big Scary Monster, and the
Driftwood Ball. The Snatchabook, which was written by his wife Helen, and was illustrated
by Thomas has been shortlisted for several awards in the UK and US and been
translated into 17 languages. He has also recently
completed the illustrations for a new Julia Donaldson book called Bombs and
Blackberries which is a play set during World War II.

Thomas delivered two fantastic assemblies in the morning and spoke to
the children about where the inspiration for his stories came from and how to
create and bring characters to life using words and illustrations. He finished
by reading Abracazebra and it was wonderful to see the engagement and enjoyment
form all the children (and staff). Children chosen from across the school then
attended workshops during the day and learnt more about the creative process
and completed some fantastic writing and artwork based on the characters form
his books. At lunchtime, Thomas read a number of his books and the children
were able to drop in for this special story time treat. In the afternoon, he
worked with a group of year 6 pupils including our prefects, junior governors
and eco team. They have produced some wonderful artwork and writing based on
the character Little Boat inspired by the part of the story where he encounters
a storm. They have written about what they wold see, think and feel in this
situation. During the session, there were some great discussions and the language
the children used in their writing was really enhanced by the experience. The
day was rounded off by a book signing outside in the spring sunshine and it was
lovely to see some many children walking away with fantastic stories to read and
share at home, continuing our love of reading.