5 days. 10 schools. Over 2000 children. Lancashire to London.
What an absolute whirlwind of a tour. With the help of three amazing Indie booksellers and the support of Scholastic UK, I took Stanley into schools around England to talk about the dangers of plastic pollution in the environment! Here are some of the highlights…
After the release of Somebody Swallowed Stanley in the UK last month, I’ve been desperate to see how the story is going down in schools, needless to say I was not disappointed!
It was a very surreal feeling being greeted at 8am by a plate of cakes and a table occupied by a jellyfish, a shrimp, a shark and a turtle (amongst other creatures) but Heswall Primary had really embraced the topic of plastic pollution! Even the teachers had gone to town, with one legendary teacher shuffling backwards in a pair of fins, complete with a mask, snorkel and make-shift dive tank for the day! I’m not lying when I say judging the fancy dress was one of the hardest tasks I’ve ever faced. This, of course, was immediately remedied as I watched the nursery class perform a fully choreographed dance routine to Somebody Swallowed Stanley.
Every school I visited along the tour really showcased just how much time and effort they are putting into environmental education and it was so great to see! From Dollis Primary and their up-cycled kites (which flew like a dream thanks to their incredibly nifty year 4 teacher!), Ladymount Catholic Primary and their partnership with Chester Zoo on Palm oil awareness and Moorpark Primary who’s pupils regularly attended beach cleans, it’s clear that these topics are hitting home. Assembly after assembly from the Wirral to London, I was absolutely amazed at the amount of intelligent questions each child had to offer and all the plastic anecdotes they were able to share.
It is safe to say, I am absolutely swimming with pride, after seeing so many teachers, children and whole schools engaging with Somebody Swallowed Stanley in a way that, up to now, I could only dream of. And not just that, it’s been even more inspiring to see these schools spreading the message even further in their own original ways! In the climate we live in, it gives me a much needed boost of hope and confidence- something I could not be more grateful for!
A special thank you goes to the local book sellers Linghams Bookshop (The Wirral), Storytellers Inc (St Annes) and Ebb and Flo (Chorley), without whom this whole tour would not have been possible. Their hard work in the local community, especially with regard to local primary schools, really is invaluable.
Please do support your local bookshop wherever possible and if you’re passing, pop in and say 'Hi' to all these lovely ladies from me!
If you have read Somebody Swallowed Stanley and are looking for exciting ways to engage your children or pupils in this topic, take a look at our free downloadable lesson plans on Scholastic website (click here).