The book tells the story of Matthew, a new pupil at Elm Road school who is picked on by teachers and bullies alike because his mum can’t afford to buy him the correct school uniform. When his mum eventually finds a second hand uniform in a charity shop, it looks as though Matthew’s troubles are over. In fact, he feels better than ever when wearing the uniform – stronger, more confident, and unwilling to put up with any more trouble. Before long, Matthew is the new king of the playground and dealing with anyone who dares to get in his way – much to the concern of his best friend, Neil. Could it be the uniform itself is to blame?
The Uniform is a terrifying tale for anyone whose ever worn a school tie…
I spent this morning at Liverpool Central Library and afternoon at Toxteth Library, running my spooky Vampires vs Werewolves Game Show for visiting school groups – only to become quieter and squeakier during the day! By the time I got home, I could barely talk (the family had a peaceful evening for once!)
Despite the croaking, it was a fantastic day (thanks to Tricia and Neil!) and wonderful to finally meet Jenni and Spider – a real Scream Street character (more on that soon…)
Thanks to everyone at Holy Trinity School in Ashton (and the visitors from St Peter’s) for making me feel so welcome today – despite my failing voice! I think I’m coming down with a cold – but everyone’s enthusiasm for writing their stories made sure I had a smile on my face from the moment I arrived.
My own presentation was a little more low key than usual – partly because I’m coming down with a cold and rapidly losing my voice, but also because there was no way I’d have got my box of Scream Street relics through the airport scanners without being hauled off to a side room for interrogation! As a result, I took the audience through a creative writing workshop and showed them how to construct a story plan with their pupils.
I stumbled across an old notebook the other day, in which I’d written a few quick stories, poems and book ideas. Most of them weren’t really useful for future projects, but one silly poem was fun to read back – so I thought I’d post it here and give you the chance to add to it…
—
How Do You Sleep? by Tommy Donbavand & you!
How do you sleep?
Igor the boar does nothing but snore
Drake the snake simply can’t stay awake
Mark the shark likes to snooze in the dark
Sandeep the sheep sometimes sings in his sleep
Honey the bunny sleeps with carrots – how funny!
Pat the rat watches out for the cat
Mog the dog always sleeps like a log
Gayle the whale tucks up under her tale
Bruce the goose dreams of cranberry juice!
Zack the yak sleeps with birds on his back
Claire the bear snuggles up in her fur
How do you sleep?
—
Now, it’s over to you. Feel free to add to this silly little poem in the comments thread…
Regular visitors will know I’m a huge fan of Doctor Who and – judging by this trailer which has just been released by the BBC for the new series starring Matt Smith – I’m about to like it even more!
One of the questions I’m most frequently asked is whether I draw the illustrations for my Scream Street books – and the answer is always a resounding NO! I have all the artistic ability of a teaspoon. My publishers, Walker Books, however knew of a very talented artist by the name of Lily Bernard who works for Cartoon Saloon – and it’s Lily who brings my characters and stories to life in picture form.
To demonstrate the process Lily takes, here are three images of one of my newer Scream Street characters – Kian Negative. You can see how each image progresses from a preliminary sketch to get a feel for the character (which my editor, designer and I get to see and comment on) through an intermediate stage and finally onto the finished picture.
I’m sure you’ll agree that Lily is not only very talented, but she has a real grasp on the feel of the Scream Street series. I’m very proud to be working with her.
