Author Phil Earle Visits Upper Prep
Last Thursday, we were delighted to be visited by the multi-award-winning author Phil Earle; he has won the British Book Award for ‘When the Sky Falls’ and has been writer in residence for the leading reading charity, Book Trust.
He spoke to Prep 4, 5 and 6 about his extraordinary journey from being a non-reader to becoming an author. In his words, he had no idea how it happened! At secondary school, there were two things he did not want to be – a reader and a writer! He loved the idea of it, but used to think he could not do it. He remembers when the ‘Roy of the Rovers’ comic was delivered, and he realised this was a book he could get on with. It was short, and a marriage of words and pictures. This was when reading excited him! For a long time, he did not think he was a proper reader because he only read comics, graphic novels, and newspapers. But, when in London, aged 26, working in a bookshop, he started to read children’s books. He read, and loved, the book ‘Holes’ and this is when his view of books changed!
He taught us important messages: you can still be a reader even if you don’t read novels, you can read with your ears as well as your eyes, and watching films teaches us how stories work, how characters interact, and about how plots are formed.
There is a story out there for everyone – it is just about being brave enough to explore which options bring you the most joy!
Phil had such a fantastic sense of humour and had both teachers and children laughing. We thank him very much for his visit!
