Top author visits Ballynahinch kids

Top author visits Ballynahinch kids

9 December 2015

PUPILS from St Patrick’s Primary School in Ballynahinch have enjoyed a visit by a popular children’s book illustrator and author.

Nick Sharratt visited the local primary school on Wednesday giving the younger students top tips for drawing, and then got them to have a go at drawing some characters from his own books.

He also read and enacted his popular books Shark in the Park and Never Use a Knife and Fork; and even his latest book Vikings in the Supermarket.

With the older schoolchildren, Mr Sharratt spoke about how he had become an illustrator and then got them to draw Tracy Beaker – a character from one of Jacqueline Wilson’s books. 

The visit was organised by the reading charity BookTrust to get more children excited by books and reading to help build vocabulary, empathy and confidence.

Literacy coordinator at St Patrick’s, Lucy McPhillips said it was a privilege to have such a well-known author and illustrator at the school. 

Describing Mr Sharratt as inspirational, she said staff took great pleasure to see the children so engrossed in their art work.

Mr Sharratt said he was delighted to return to Northern Ireland with the BookTrust again.

He said he enjoyed helping to spread the message to schoolchildren that to develop a love of reading can bring not only enormous pleasure, but will lead the way to all kinds of advantages and opportunities in later life. 

“As an author and illustrator I’m also keen to promote picture books as the most fantastic learning tools and to encourage visual awareness and creative thinking,” he said.

“I always enjoy school visits and in the same way that I hope I might inspire and stimulate, I am sure I will return from these visits inspired and stimulated too.”