Recently I’ve been spending one lunchtime a week working with boys from a local infant school to help encourage their writing skills. On average, boys at this age are not as forward as girls at either reading or writing, so the initiative the school developed was to whet the boys’ appetites and ignite that creative spark. The first session involved me discussing how I go about writing, and the sorts of things they should be looking to add to their stories to make them interesting and exciting. They were encouraged to note down their ideas and thoughts in a rough drafts book, and soon everything from cowardly dragons to heroic ghosts were appearing on the pages. Initially the boys found it hard to break away from the ‘good’ ideas of those around them, so there was a degree of imitation through enthusiasm, but as the weeks have passed the boys have become more focused on their own tales and each have developed imaginative and rounded stories. One more session to go before Easter, so I’m looking forward to the results!

I’m fortunate enough to get some pretty fun and interesting jobs come my way, and one of the most enjoyable recently has been completely redesigning Longdown Activity Farm’s tourism leaflet. Longdown Activity Farm is a superb hands-on experience in the New Forest, hugely popular with families and schools. Much of its appeal is due to the passionate enthusiasm of its owners and their understanding of why children simply love farm animals. To illustrate this, I proposed populating the leaflet with friendly animal cartoons, lots of colour and vibrancy, and an illustrated map to tie everything together. Traditionally the farm features two local children on the cover, but getting them to sit comfortably and pose with one of the farm’s animals was always a tricky proposition, so this was overcome by sitting them amongst a group shot of cartoon animals. I’m hugely pleased with the results, and I’m happy to report Longdown are too!

Fairisle Infants are on the edge of Southampton and comprise a lively and creative bunch of children and staff. The school were keen that I spend time with every class and had devised a timetable of half an hour slots for Years 1 and 2 and 15 minutes for Year R. Although this is a relatively tight timeframe, it allows for a punchier visit and (I hope) leaves the children keen to try out some creative writing or drawing of their own. I received some lovely praise from the children for the quick drawings of creatures made up of animals they called out, but the gem was a Year R boy who insisted I shook his hand and then said, “Now go home and practice so you can come back and draw us a rabbit tomorrow.” Brilliant.

Just spent the day with a local school, Wildground Infants, a short distance from where I used to live. Did a mixture of activities with the children including reading stories, talking about my artwork and stories, drawing Beaulieu the Hedgehog and Emery the Woodmouse, and creating new versions of the Litterbug. Some very talented artists and bright sparks, and a simply brilliant session with the Year R children. Thanks for having me, Wildground.

Just spent a very busy, and very enjoyable, day at Bitterne CE Infants in Southampton. The day kicked off with an assembly where I got to meet the children and they got to meet me. I then had half an hour with each class where they created their own versions of the Litterbug from my first New Forest Friends book. The children were packed with ideas which resulted in some quite amazing creations. As the day drew to a close we gathered back in the hall to show off the efforts of each class, and share a few colourful and creative drawings by individuals. Despite feeling somewhat hoarse now, it was a brilliant day, and a good example of children letting loose their imaginations.

I’ve just completed a set of illustrations for a student writing a thesis on therapuetic work with children. The idea is to present it like a children’s story book. I thought I’d share my favourite illustration from the set.

I spent a brilliant day earlier this week at Bitterne Park Infants in Southampton. The theme was ‘Monsters’ so I was a little out of my comfort zone as I couldn’t really do my usual routine with the classes. However, this didn’t turn out to be a problem at all, as the children’s enthusiasm and ingenuity spurred me on. I read them my New Forest Friends & The Litterbugs book where one of the characters imagines a giant insect monster, and then a poem I’ve written about a monster catcher. Finally the children invented monsters of their own by suggesting parts of animals for me to draw on large sheets of paper that slowly grew into hideous beasts. My thanks to everyone at the school for making me feel so welcome.

Last weekend I joined a splot of cartoonists in the lovely town of Witney for a social organised by the Cartoonists’ Club Of Great Britain. We’re made up of caricaturists, gag cartoonists, greetings card scribblers, character designers and a whole host in-between, but for a bunch who are, essentially, in competition with one another, we do seem to get on remarkably well. Saturday saw us enjoying a guided tour around the Wychwood Brewery, home to the delicious Hobgoblin, and as part of the event we’d been invited to submit gag cartoons around the subject of goblins and witches. Top prizes went to Richard Howell, Roger Penwill and Noel Ford and bloomin’ good they were too. Then that evening, after a scrumptious dinner at The Plough, we were all handed large sheets of paper and were told we had fifteen minutes to scribble a cartoon with the line “It’s Never Done That Before”. In a room largely populated by seasoned gag cartoonists I didn’t much fancy my chances, but to my surprise and pleasure I managed to clinch joint first place with Bren Romans. Chuffed to bits, I was.

I read a lot of books with cartoons in, and they’re not always easy to track down if you don’t know where to look, so this seems as good a place as any to share them with you.

You may well have heard of Dave Gaskill due to his editorial cartoons from The Sun, Today and the Sunday Mail, and even if you don’t recognise the name there’s a good chance you’ve seen some of his work. He’s a superb cartoonist and an excellent caricaturist, and, as is proved by this book, can write too.

The story is set in Georgian London and centres around Moll and her tavern, Ye Sotted Sow, filled with various nefarious ne’er-do-wells and parodied patrons. Press gangs are at large conscripting the drunk and the vulgar, and who should get swiped while leaving Moll’s premises but the Prince Regent himself. It’s left to Moll, Sgt Rupert Romper and a few regulars to track him down, taking them all the way to the States and a potentially explosive situation.

The book is jam-packed with wit and is full of gloriously detailed illustrations and caricatures of the famous and infamous. It reminded me a lot of Goscinny and Uderzo’s Asterix books with it’s comical takes on the familiar and globe-trotting exploits, which is no bad thing at all, but that said, the book has a heart and style of its own and is clearly a work centred around Dave’s own storytelling talents. There are genuine laughs and smiles amongst the pages, which should be recommendation enough, but if you need more than that, then just delight in the drawings.

If you enjoy cartoons then this should be on your bookshelf. You can get your copy by clicking here. Enjoy!