Author Blair Reeve visits FIS Students

 On the 3rd of May, Year 7 and 8 FIS students had a lovely guest come in during their morning; Blair Reeve, the author of “Hogart The Hedgehog Turns Nink” was going from school to school, telling us about his book and doing a reading. He read the story amazingly, with the right tone and different voices every time a new character appeared.
“Hogart The Hedgehog Turns Nink” is a beautifully rythmed and well rhymed book for readers 5 and above. The illustrations are funny, comical and yet stunning. Blair Reeve also mentioned that he had been writing poetry for 25 years and when his brother-in-law challenged him to write a children’s book as he just had a baby girl, Astral, he accepted the tricky yet tempting challenge.  He started writing his book in February 2015 and managed to publish it himself by December 2015. He decided to do so as he wanted his good friend, Chris Stapp, to illustrate it for him (in the writing industry, the authors do not get to choose their illustrator unless publishing the book yourself).
Although the book is aimed at younger children, all of us enjoyed this experience much more than we expected. First of all, we had a stunning “reading” of Blair’s book (in fact, he has memorized his whole entire story and acted it for us). Secondly, it showed us that where there is a will there is a way: if we truly want to achieve or do something, even if it’s out of our comfort zone, we should always go for it. Maybe something magical will happen out of it.
Thank you Blair Reeve for coming to our school and talking to us all about your adventure that led you to writing such a wonderful story with an inspiring moral to it. We hope to see you again soon with your next book!
Marta Huntees (Year 7)