Anthony discusses Ross Montgomery's event at our Festival Of Culture
On the weekend of the 14th August, we held our first-ever Festival of Culture. There was a great buzz around the shop as authors from various different parts of the book world were joining us to talk about their works. The weather was kind, the vibes were positive and all in all the days ran smoothly. I was assigned various events to aid in helping everything running smoothly. I wanted to talk about one in particular.
Elizabeth and I were given to wonderful job of helping Ross Montgomery deliver his interactive and all hilarious showcase about his latest book – Ten Delicious Teachers.
It is a wonderful story about ten teachers who missed the last bus home and so they decide to take the dangerous path through the woods where (spoiler alert) are eaten off by various different naughty monsters as they venture until one is left which has a fun little twist for an end. It is beautifully illustrated by Sarah Warburton that captures the cheekiness and characterisation of the teachers and monsters set amongst nature.
So, there we were Ross rightly grabbing all the audience’s attention, Elizabeth and her calm majestic ways, and me, running around like a rabbit in headlights deciding who needs what and all that jazz. Ross has written numerous amounts of children books and I got the impression he was a seasoned pro with a younger audience. This was a really fun event. Ross made it, really, with his virtual presentation and his interaction with the children. His command of the children, I would liken to a conductor of an orchestra. They were captivated by the hilarious narrative of the story and Ross’ charismatic storytelling. I particularly enjoyed the fun activity where the children were asked to draw their very own monster with their favourite teacher. The playfulness and creative venture of a child’s imagination is such a delightful insight to witness. My particular favourite was a moose monster that even bemused the child’s parents with where he had conjured it from. I just found and enjoyed the energy and the enthusiasm of the children bouncing off Ross was really fun.
Hopefully next year, Ross will return for more laughs with his books. If you have young children then Ten Delicious Teachers is a fantastic book -- very funny and at the same time helps your child how to count. Next year the festival will be even bigger and we will have plenty of more great events for children. Please come and join us. I am already looking forward to it.
Order a copy here.