How do you define a good story…

How to define a good story…  For me, these are the best:

a fun, humorous, and intriguing story;  inspiring and uplifting rather than depressing and despairing;  a story that you can’t put down once you’ve started – and is of a length that if you sit long enough you can do just that; a story that keeps you guessing all they way through and yet is entirely logical and believable in a not quite of this world sort of way; a story that leaves you feeling satisfied and complete – and yet wanting more; rounded believable characters who behave consistently; exciting without manipulating  the emotions; problems that need solving; and an overall theme/idea of growth and discovery.

To find all of these in a story is a rare and wonderful thing, and I find that the stories written by Andrew Norriss fulfil them all. Written for children, but at enjoyed by readers of all ages – teenagers, twenties, parents, grandparents…

If you are a t all intrigued read an extract here.

- and if you in southern England you can meet the author at Little Green Dragon Bookshop, Alton Hants  on Saturday 16th May 2009, 2 – 3pm.

Andrew Norriss won the Whitbread Award for Aquila, wrote Bernard’s Watch and The Brittas Empire for tv, and inspires children’s reading and writing with his author visits to primary schools. My personal favourite is The Touchstone because I love the idea of the librarian always on hand with the answer to your every question.

Inspiring Readers of all Ages…

Ctrl-Z – Making Mistakes Has Never Been So Much Fun!

Aquila II – 2010

A good book written for children can be read by adults. Norton Juster

http://anorrissbooks.wordpress.com &  www.andrewnorriss.co.uk

Children’s author visits in Primary schools

If you are a teacher or librarian who wants to inspire the reluctant, as well as the keen, readers in your class, you won’t find better than children’s author Andrew Norriss. He will leave the children feeling empowered and full of enthusiasm for reading and writing. Read the feedback from some of the school visits that Andrew has made so far this year and to find out details of his school visits go to http://anorrissbooks.wordpress.com Andrew Norriss is the writer of Aquila, Bernard’s Watch, The Brittas Empire and the Woof! series for TV. There are links for those on the website too.

Books that make you laugh and cry

 

 

I re-read Bernard’s Watch by Andrew Norriss yesterday. I had forgotten how good it is. This is the book on which the Bernard’s Watch TV series was based. Bernard is a young boy who is given a watch that stops time and the book is not only about the fun that can be had, but also about how something like the watch can change your life. If you use the watch for stealing as Mrs Donaldson does it is not necessarily good for you, but if you use it to help others and to give yourself time to think and learn, then the results can be life enhancing. Mrs Donaldson gets arrested but Bernard becomes  happier and grows in confidence.

In Ctrl-Z Alex is given a laptop that takes him back in time when he presses Ctrl-Z and so when a mistake (or an awful mess ) is made, he can go back to have another try. In Aquila, the spacecraft that the boys find is very exciting to fly around in but also leads to the boys wanting to learn allsorts of things, including Latin, and their lives improve hugely at home and at school as a result.

There are no victims in Andrew Norriss’s books. When choices are made, you live with the consequences, and if they are not what you want you choose again.

Andrew Norriss is a clever writer too in that he can not only write a good fun adventure story but also can explore the big issues of life like, death and divorce, with a light touch. And so I laugh out loud at the comedy moments, snuffle quietly at a child’s acceptance of divorcing parents or the moving death scene, and at the end I close the book with a sigh of satisfaction, tinged with regret that it has come to an end so soon. They simply are best – and my favourite is the one I haven’t mentioned, The Touchstone, and it would make such a good movie. But Hugh Grant is a bit too old to play Gedrus now and he would have been perfect…

 

Don’t just take my word for it. Read chapter 1 of Ctrl-Z and read comments from children and teachers here:  http://anorrissbooks.wordpress.com/aquila-activity-sheets/

 

Why Book an Author for a School Visit

 

Nothing inspires children to read like hearing an author talk with enthusiasm about books and reading – if that author can communicate well and develop a rapport with the children, which is exactly what Andrew Norriss can do. Andrew was a teacher before becoming a writer, can also act and is passionate about books and reading. These ingredients together with the fact that Andrew has given over 100 talks in the last 2 years means he is not just good at talking to children in school, he is great. He doesn’t just talk he inspires.

 

When Andrew started giving talks a few years ago he would spend a whole day planning and practicing a talk before going into schools and arrive home exhausted. Now, with so much experience he can adapt each talk to suit the children and situation that he finds and when he was led out in assembly recently with no prior warning, it wasn’t so much what shall I say but how long would you like.

 

When Andrew talks to, or rather with, a group of children something magical can happen. Andrew is speaking from his heart when and the children pick on his enthusiasm. They love the extracts that he reads from his books and he leaves them fired with enthusiasm. In fact Andrew has taken to hanging around for a while at the end of the day as invariably a red-faced panting child will arrive having run home and back in record time as they hadn’t had money to buy a book and they were so desparate to get one. And the magic doesn’t end there. Having read one book most children, and their parents, will want to read the rest as is evidenced on the Amazon pages.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ctrl-Z-Andrew-Norriss/dp/0141324295/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238566342&sr=1-1

 

For more information about Andrew Norriss’s school visits go to http://anorrissbooks.wordpress.com/

 

 

Ctrl-Z takes Puffin by surprise.

Ctrl-Z is the latest book by Andrew Norriss and after just 5 days the first print run has run out.   (Andrew won the Whitbread prize for Aquila, wrote Bernard’s Watch and was the creator and co-writer of The Brittas Empire)

What is Andrew to do now?  He is booked to visit 7 more schools in Gosport and Portsmouth as part of his book tour to celebrate the publication of Ctrl-Z,  but with no copies of the book to sell.

Ooops Ctrl-Z Puffin. You need to go back in time and order a larger print run! 

 To find out why Ctrl-Z by Andrew Norriss is flying off the shelves you can  read chapter 1 at http://anorrissbooks.wordpress.com/ and then hope you don’t have to wait too long to read the whole book.

 

Victim/Rescuer as hero?

(If you are looking for info about Andrew Norriss click here)

I find the use of Archetypes in stories most interesting A few popular examples :

Gandalf – the Wizard-as-advisor

Romeo and Juliet – the ill-fated (“star-crossed”) lovers 

Indiana Jones – The Swashbuckler

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer - the Crusader,

Harry Potter – the reluctant hero

Jane Eyre = the Waif

In Cinderella we have a fine example of The Drama Triangle of victim (Cinderella), persecutor (step sisters)  and rescuer (Prince Charming)

- -and I wonder what our approval or disapproval of archetypal characters in fiction reveals about our own beliefs and outlook on life; and also how our tastes change as we grow up. …When young my favourite fairy tale was Rapunzle – the girl locked in a high tower who was rescued by a prince. I’ve outgrown it now – well I’ve was rescued and have now lived happily ever after for many years!- and I’ve also learnt a lot since then. Now, the Victim as hero stories are no longer my personal favourites and after reading this article on Truth or Tradition I understood more clearly why not. Here’s an abbreviated extract:  

‘Dramatic tension is created by establishing the villain’s character, and causing the reader or viewer to identify with the victim or victims. To resolve this mounting tension, a Rescuer must be introduced…..   Victims can be angry or pathetic. The Pathetic Victim seeks pity and sympathy, whereas the Angry Victim postures himself as powerful by using phrases such as “You are not going to do it to me again” or “You’re bad.” Both Victim versions are looking for someone to blame for the emotions they are having and why things are not as they wish…….The Rescuer position, or Good Guy, tries to alleviate feelings of guilt and “being bad” by doing “good.” The payoff for the Rescuer is the good feeling that comes from the belief that he is the unselfish one in the situation. …..one can base a sense of self on being “unselfish” or “good,” instead of valuing authentic selfhood and one’s own goals…. The price of being a Rescuer is ignoring one’s own feelings and thoughts in favour of maintaining an image of “goodness” for self and others.’

Stories where victims are rescued from villains by heroes are very popular especially when so well written as they are by Michael Morpurgo, but as I say they are not to my taste. I prefer books like those by Andrew Norriss in which the characters are the heroes of their own lives. They promote the value of authentic selfhood. ‘Bad‘ things may appear to happen to them but they are not victims. They don’t need to be rescued but instead they seek help. They puzzle out how to improve their lives or circumstances; they make mistakes, learn from their experiences and then get up and try again. They end up happier, more self reliant and less dependent. They are more able to cope with set backs. They make positive contributions to the lives of others without becoming the rescuer themselves and without being goody goodies, in fact they get up to quite a lot of mischief, though never malicious. These are the books that lead children to think about their weaknesses and discover and build on their inner strengths. And at the same time they are wonderfully imaginative adventure stories, written with humour and a light touch and as one review said they wear their morals lightly. As a result children love them and they are all shortlisted for Children’s Book Awards in schools and libraries around the country. To find out more about Andrew Norriss’s books and book awards go to http://anorrissbooks.wordpress.com/  He’s a genius and I love him!

The genius that is Terry Pratchett

I can still remember clearly that day in 1984, when I picked up The Colour of Magic, my first Terry Pratchett book. I was on the library van, with babe in arms and picked up this little paperback with a most unusual, slightly racey looking cover and thought it worth a try. Well, now, 24 years later, the babe is now as big a fan as I am, and I find reading Nation is almost too much to bear. It makes me laugh, it makes me to cry, it makes me think. What more can a book offer? Why is the man not knighted? His gift to the world in the Disc World books, Wee Free Men trilogy and now Nation is so wonderful. Thankyou for enriching my life Mr Pratchett.  In each book you can almost hear him thinking, puzzling out life., wondering what it’s for, how does it work, is there a God or gods or what… I know that Andrew Norriss, my most favourite author of all, doesn’t read Pratchett when he is writing a book himself.

A truly great writer like Terry Pratchett or Andrew Norriss is one who has found their own authentic voice. and has something worthwhile to say.  A writer’s voice is a subtle combination of style, language, plotting and belief. How my heart rejoices when I find an author whose voice is one I enjoy. I feel in safe hands in the knowledge that I know how the book will feel, the kind of plot that will unfold and the surety of a satisfying ending. Successful writers  I suppose, are those whose voice speaks to a lot of people – together with the luck of being recognised by the big buyers so that the books are discovered.

Terry Pratchett is a mega success with brilliant books sold in huge numbers around the world. Andrew Norriss is a successful writer because his stories  enrich children’s lives and encourage them to read more.  I have to wait a long time for a new Pratchett but Ctrl-Z, the new book by Andrew Norriss will be out on 5th March. not too long to wait… and you can read chapter 1 now on http://anorrissbooks.wordpress.com/!

Empowering Books for Children

Life is full of challenges which are often seen as problems, – or projects as Steve Chandler calls them. The way in which we deal with them can lead to a very different attitude to life – or is it that our attitude to life leads us to deal with challenges differently?  We can be victims or survivors, losers or champions. We can be overcome or overwhelmed. . How to deal with life’s challenges is not something we are deliberately taught in school but rather pick up by chance from teachers, parents, friends, books and movies by observing how others act or react in different situations. Andrew Norriss’s books fall into the category of books that help us see difficult situations in a new light.Problems can be turned into postive experiences with life changing results and the self empowerment of the heroes. In Andrew Norriss’s books ordinary children find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. At first sight they may seem to be quite overwhelming problems - in The Portal, William and Daniel’s parents have gone missing; In The Unluckiest Boy in the World Nicholas is living under a curse. In both stories adventures happen, the difficulties are explored and the children learn more about themselves. They discover their hidden strengths and come to greater understanding of how it is possible to live happy lives even when circumstances do not appear to be in your favour. Bad things may happen but you can come through stronger and happier and with knowledge to help understand how there is the potential to live happily wherever you are.

Anyone read Sara by  Abraham -Hicks? Similarly about selfempowerment but in a more direct way. I loved it but don’t know how it would go down with children. Would love to know if you have experience of it.

Does what we read vary with economic conditions?

As fashion in clothes varies in relation to the economic climate – hemlines go up and down, the showing off of expensive underware when times are good, dressing more modestly when we have less to spend, so, I wonder does our reading vary similarly. I have noticed over recent years of booming economy, lots of money in pockets and general feeling of wealth that children’s books have tended towards the tension filled, violent, urban, vengeful where the heroes and heroines are either vicitms or have to be bigmouthed, urban, spunky, not very nice themselves, saving themselves or the whole world from bullies or baddies who are so evil as to be ridiculous. Swearing, knives, emotions of the soap and tabloid press world abound; being nice is sneered at; being ‘Right’ is what counts and the main characters know exactly what is ‘Right’ and anyone with a different idea of right is wrong.

This is not a world that I am familiar with and certainly not one that I want to spend time in. Perhaps when times are good and comfortable we don’t feel we deserve to enjoy what we have and so have to read about how miserable life could be, and so I hope that now as we perceive times as being tough we can once more reading good stories about how life can be positive and enjoyable, a learning and growing experience yes but it doesn’t have to be lived out in grim surrounding with horrible people. Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Working out how to be happy.  And that’s where I come back to Andrew Norriss’s books. Books in which the adventures are every bit as good as the grim books but are fun to read as well being about learning and growing, how to adapt to life and get the most out of it. About finding out what you really want to do. Discovering how to be happy in difficult circumstances. How you can be the creator of your own life. How you don’t have to let your life be run through your unexamined emotions. Books that leave you feeling good about yourself and the world and life. Books that leave you thinking about what it would be fun to go and do in contrast to those books that leave you feeling depressed and wanting to curl up miserably in a darkened room.

So the good news about these ‘economic times of crisis’ we get to read some cheerful books again. Hooray! Now’s the time to buy Andrew Norriss’s books for cheerful Christmas presents. The children will love them. The parents will love them. The grandparents will love them. And everyone is left feeling uplifted.  So it’s a happy Christmas all round – unless there aren’t enough books to go round and everyone starts fighting over them…

Award Winning books

Aquila by Andrew Norriss won the Whitbread children’s Book Award. Books win big prizes like this for a reason and Aquila  stands on its own as a book to inspire and encourage children to think about what they want to do in life and what is important, whilst at the same time being a cracking good fun adventure story. Another thing about Award winners is that they can be enjoyed by any age group. Aquila was written for children but parents, grandparents and adults in general all enjoy it too. It gives you something to think about, makes you laugh, you never quite know where it will go next  whilst at the same time feeling in very safe hands .

Aquila is gripping from the first page, when two boys slip down a bank into a disused quarry while on a school orienteering trip. There they discover a Roman spacecraft, which they manage to get going. They learn more whilst finding out how to control the spaceship than they have ever learnt at school – including Latin! As well as wiiing the 1997 Whitbread Children’s Novel Award it was also short-listed for the Smarties Award and was made into a popular television series. You only have to visit the Aquila appreciation Society on Face Book and see the youtube video hits to appreciate how popular it was and still is.