Dreaming of DRAGONS Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon series has sold over 7 million copies worldwide and inspired a generation of young readers. Alumna of Marlborough, she talks to Amanda Morison about the importance of letting children be creative in the classroom and going wild in the great outdoors Cressida Cowell read English at Oxford (Keble College) and went on to Saint Martin’s School of Art and Brighton University to study art. Asked which is more important to her work, the words or the illustration she admits, “I can’t imagine one without the other. I draw maps to make the setting feel like a real place, and write and sketch the characters to get a sense of what they’re like”. This brings to mind other author / illustrators, not least J.R. Tolkien who Cowell believes was inspired by his time on archaeological digs. “It was riddled with holes which may well have given him ideas for the Hobbit. It’s very interesting how the British landscape inspires”. Cowell’s passion for igniting the imagination is inextricably linked with this belief in the importance of nature. Her well-documented childhood was spent in London (where aged five she’d cross London by bus with her sister to go to school – “Imagine doing that now!”) and a deserted Scottish Above: Setting off on an island adventure in the 1970s. Cressida pictured as a child on her family’s Hebridean island. Right: Inspiring young imaginations of Vale Primary School pupils in Little Hurst Wood, Surrey through her passion for nature, The Wizards of Once heroes Xar and Wish. island. In true Swallows & Amazons-style, Cowell and her siblings roamed and sailed free all day. She feels that humans are hard-wired to explore, and without it there would be no creativity. “I worry about children’s access to nature. Nature writer Robert Macfarlane describes how the Oxford English Dictionary has stopped printing words like bluebell and acorn and replaced them with broadband and blog. If you lose these words it’s symbolic with losing touch with the countryside”. While children might dream of visiting Burke, How to Train Your Dragon’s fictional island, Cowell admits that social services would arrest you if you tried to recreate the circumstances of her own childhood, “Sailing alone without life jackets probably isn’t a good idea. But you can take children to uninhabited places, camping or just somewhere with no internet. Let them climb trees!”. This passion for nature has led Cowell to work with the Woodland Trust as an Honorary Nature
PROFILE “When I visit Primary Schools you get lovely conversations about whether trees talk to each other, and if making their roots grow towards water means they have brains” Detective inspiring children to love and respect Britain’s wildlife. “When I visit Primary Schools you get lovely conversations about whether trees talk to each other, and if making their roots grow towards water means they have brains”. Another significant influence on Cowell’s writing are her own experiences at school. An avid reader and excited by learning – “I even loved subjects I wasn’t very good at” – she was constantly in trouble for being messy and disorganised. “Xar, my boy wizard hero in The Wizards of Once series, acts first, thinks later, then gets demotivated and becomes confrontational. Wish, my girl hero, is dyslexic - my sister is dyslexic too. I identify with children who aren’t part of ›› SPRI NG 19 ★ schoolnotices.co.uk 31
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
We've gone all foodie this term! Fantastic interviews with Sir Rocco Forte, Giles Coren, Nadiya Hussain and Tilly Ramsay shares her brilliant Rainbow cake recipe. Plus, Dermot O'Leary has written a children's book! Definitely one for the stocking, along with other picks we have for you in our top notch Christmas Gift Guide. And if that is not enough, we have the make-up and beauty tips to make sure you are party fabulous this season. Downlaod it now or read it on our School Notices App if you are not at a member school giving you a printed copy.
Bear Grylls, Ben Fogle, Louise Minchin & Cressida Cowell all contribute to this packed edition on the wonders of the great outdoors! Win a family holiday to Forte Village, Sardinia and join our Holland & Holland school clay tournament. It's our best issue yet!!
Awesome creative alumni interviews with David Linley, David Yarrow, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and your ultimate Christmas gift guide make this our best edition yet!
Packed with interviews! This edition features Pixie Lott, Andrew Ridgeley and Sir Tim Rice on all things music.
Mary Berry, Tim Peake, Ben Garrod and a host of other inspiring interviews makes this our best magazine yet! We hope you enjoy reading this term's edition and join 90,000 other independent school parents and alumni members by visiting us online at www.schoolnotices.co.uk
Winter magazine out now! Going to 35,000 families at our member schools, all raising funds for great causes.
Our new look magazine! Going to 35,000 families at our member schools, all raising funds for great causes.
© Copyright 2019 School Notices Ltd.
All rights reserved.
Join us on…
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest