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Inverclyde Pupils Book in for a ‘Really Wild’ Encounter

School children from Inverclyde will be taken on a literary safari this September with BBC presenter and children’s author Nicola Davies. As part of the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour, Nicola will treat 592 primary school pupils to her lively lectures on the natural world as she visits 10 schools in the Argyll & Bute and Inverclyde areas.

Having previously described herself as ‘besotted with animals’, Nicola’s tales of spotting sperm whales off the Dominican coast, chameleons in Madagascar and salt-water crocodiles in Australia are sure to inspire many a budding young adventurer. However, she says she’s also fascinated by the animals she sees close to her home in Wales. Nicola encourages her young audience to find inspiration in the natural world around them and to use this as a prompt for their creative writing.

Well-known as one of the original presenters of the BBC children’s wildlife programme, The Really Wild Show, Nicola has more recently made her name as a children’s author, having penned both fiction and non-fiction books for children aged 7-11 based on her experiences of watching and studying animals. Her titles include Whale Boy (shortlisted for Blue Peter Award 2014), The Lion Who Stole My Arm (Portsmouth Book Prize 2014) and The Promise (English Society Award 2014).

Nicola has taken her writing workshops from West Wales to Dominica to work with students of all ages across the globe. She has given talks on natural history since she was a student of zoology in Cambridge and has presented to live audiences on radio and television. She asserts that everyone she has worked with now knows how to sing like a hump-backed whale!

 

Commenting on her upcoming tour, Nicola said:

I'm really looking forward to meeting children in Scotland. It’s one of my favourite countries and I've spent four recent summer holidays in the Highlands and the Hebrides. I know the children of Inverclyde, Argyle and Bute will have lots of stories about their own wildlife to share with me.

Calum Bennie, Communications Manager at Scottish Friendly, sponsors of the tour, said:

Nicola’s tales of the natural world add a new dimension to the range of books that the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour has brought to children in the 15 years of the programme. Children love nature and Nicola’s talks will no doubt provide the stimulus for them to take a greater interest in the subject, and hopefully write their own stories of creepy crawlies and more.

Beth Bottery, Schools Events Manager at Scottish Book Trust, which is organising the tour, added:

Pupils in Argyll & Bute and Inverclyde will receive an extra special welcome back to the classroom this September as Nicola brings her exciting animal tales to life, showing how reading can provide a gateway to other pursuits and how writing inspiration can be found in your own back garden!

The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour is run by Scottish Book Trust, Scotland’s leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing and is sponsored by Scottish Friendly, Scotland’s largest mutual with over 150 years of experience. The main aim of the Tour is to encourage children’s love of literature through inspirational author visits, which bring their books to life.

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