December Artist of the Month – Donna David
Our December ‘Artist of the Month’ is author Donna David
About Donna David
Donna grew up in the West Midlands in a house full of noisy siblings, fun parents, mad aunties and maggots (her dad is a fisherman). She'd often be found reading by torch light way after bed time and this love of reading has never left her.
Donna has a degree in English from Loughborough University and currently delivers creative writing sessions and author visits all over the UK.
Donna loves writing for children and teenagers and thinks that a child's imagination is the best place in the world!
What a visit from Donna entails
Donna David’s workshops are high energy and super engaging. Donna has worked in schools for over eight years and she is in her absolute element when children are passionate and excited about reading and creating.
You can see details on her visits here
Testimonials from previous visits.
"The children in Year 1 enjoyed Donna visiting our school. Whilst in our class, she was able to help the children understand the process of publishing a book. She used drama to aid the children's learning. The book that Donna shared in class inspired the children to design their own trains. The children were enthusiastic to ask questions to an author, and Donna was super at keeping everyone engaged. We look forward to her next visit!"
Perton Primary Academy
"What a treat our Reception and KS1 children had, spending a morning working with Donna David! Her storytelling was superb and the children were spellbound. We can't wait for her return visit!"
Broseley Primary School
"I just wanted to say thank you so much for yesterday. The children really enjoyed it and you pitched it just right. It was great for them to meet a real-life author in their literacy week. Thank you!"
Heather Rabbit Nursery
"The children in Year 1 absolutely loved spending some time with Donna - their first time meeting a real-life author! They were totally engaged with her amazing story-telling."
Grove Primary School
Interview with Donna David
You have some fantastic picture books, what is the key to telling a good and engaging story when you have so few words to play with compared to a chapter book?
This is such a good question! For me, it starts with the characters. They could be trains, dinosaurs, children or animals, but, whatever they are, they have to appeal to children. Start with a great character that children love and you’re half way there!
Then, once your character is centre stage, you have to make every word count. I work hard to remember that the illustrations are going to tell (at least) 50% of the story as well so I make sure that I don’t waste words that will be completely unnecessary once I’ve been paired with a brilliant illustrator.
How much do your real life experiences influence your work and how much is imagination driven?
I do lots and lots of school visits and spend so much time with young children; these visits influence my stories massively. My dinosaur book and transport series all came to fruition through spending time with young children and observing what they were obsessing over.
My next book, The Awesomely Adventurous Librarians, is strongly influenced by my love of libraries and books. I think librarians are superheroes putting stories in the hands of every curious reader. In every school visit, I share the message that there is the perfectly perfect book out there for everyone, and this message forms such an important part of my new story.
You have some very funny books and lively performances, does humour come naturally to you or is it a skill that can be developed?
I genuinely make myself laugh all the time. It’s my favourite thing to do. Sometimes, what I’m laughing at only seems to amuse me but I think that’s funny too! I love funny shows, funny books and funny people and I make a real effort to seek out a lot of laughter.
Luckily for me, I think children are some of the best comedians on the planet! If they like you and connect with you, they are so generous with their laughter so I’m constantly working on my performances to make them as funny and engaging as possible.
Your enthusiasm is infectious. Why do you love your job and presenting to audiences so much?
The thing I love most about presenting to children is that they are always on your side. They are there to have a good time. They are there to make a new friend. They want to leave with excellent memories. The older we get, the slightly more cynical we become, but children have this abundant enthusiasm for life and that’s why I love working with them so much. It rubs off on me and it makes me a happier person.
How would you encourage people to develop a love of reading?
For me, a love of reading comes from a love of stories. These stories could be TV shows or movies, an audiobook or the illustrations of a wordless comic or, of course, books. When it comes to books, read whatever you choose to read. Pick a genre that excites you. If children’s books are your escapism, then never give them up! Don’t finish a book that you’re not enjoying and read several books at once if that’s your thing. There are no rules when it comes to reading for pleasure. You can read however, whenever and wherever you choose!
There are currently campaigns for it to be a legal requirement for schools to have a library. Why do you think libraries and librarians are so valuable?
An access to free books is so special but a room full of books can also be overwhelming. That’s where the superhero librarian comes in. They can guide you, recommend books and save books for you or chat to you about what you’d like to read. Libraries can provide a warm and safe space for a child to relax during breaktime or they can provide the thrill and excitement of an adventure book. The joy of a library is that it can be whatever you want it to be: thrilling and joyful or quiet and reflective and everything in between.
Can a visit be fun as well as educational?
Of course! At the heart of my visits is sharing my love of books and the joy of reading but there is ALWAYS an educational aspect to my visits to. For younger children, this could be counting, or colour recognition or shape sorting. For older children, the educational aspect could come from creative writing sessions or poetry workshops. I always throw in a random fact quiz as well so even the teachers learn something new!
I also love combining a book event with a physical movement workshop. I have a background in teaching PE and coaching sports so I love my events to have an element of Physical Education as well.
Many schools are keen for as many of their pupils to take part in an author visit as possible, but one person seeing a school of hundreds – sometimes thousands, can be hard to fit into one day and ensure quality. What have you found is a good way to include multiple young people whilst still ensuring they all get a meaningful experience in your school visits?
I find that a whole school assembly is a great way of including lots of young people in an author visit. A virtual visit also works well because multiple classrooms can join the meeting. My sessions can be anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours long so, if schools want short sessions, I can visit lots and lots of classes in one day. I just ask for a lunch break and 5 or 10 minutes between each session.
How do you decide who will illustrate your books?
I don’t! When a publisher buys one of my books, they pair me with an illustrator and I LOVE the whole process. It’s so exciting to see rough sketches drawn by an incredibly talented illustrator.
What has been a memorable moment from a school or library visit?
I love some of the questions I get in my Q and A sessions. You can never predict them! I’ve been asked my favourite natural disaster, if I prefer worms or slugs or why my hair used to be yellow (in my author photo, I’m much blonder than I am now)!
I didn’t take it personally, but in one nursery session, a little boy fell asleep during my book reading. I like to think it was triggering his bedtime routine for him!
What books did you enjoy growing up?
I read voraciously as a child. I distinctly remember reading The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler and loving that. Stig of the Dump was a favourite as well but it’s been so long since I read it that I don’t really remember any of the plot. Rather controversially, I read my nan’s entire Mills and Boon collection when I was far too young to do so!
You have participated in a few festivals as well – how do these differ to a typical school visit?
Festivals are a little bit more unpredictable. With school visits, you know who will be turning up and you always have staff members present to help you. With festivals, you could get anywhere between 3 and 53 people turn up and you have to be prepared for every eventuality! The age range can be much wider at a festival too so I really have to be on my toes! Having said that, children visiting festivals come with their own parents or carers so the adult-to-child ratio is much better. This means I can get a bit more adventurous with the games because every child has their own allocated adult to help them!
Do you have a favourite character out of all your books – or is it impossible to pick?
My next book, The Awesomely Adventurous Librarians, stars an intrepid explorer called Rida. She is a strong, brave, thoughtful and an incredibly adventurous librarian; I love her!
What new books or topics can we look forward to you releasing next?
I have two new books out next year. The Awesomely Adventurous Librarians and No way, I’ll stay! The first of these books is a HUGE adventure with danger, peril and excitement at every turn. The second is about a very grumpy, stubborn bird who absolutely, definitely does NOT want to migrate.
Games can be involved in your school visits, what do these involve and how do they work well with literacy?
With young children, I play a lot of memory or guessing games. These games are excellent for developing speaking and listening skills and they can really extend a young child’s vocabulary. With older children, my games are more to ignite their imaginations. I’ll take props and word prompts to try to inspire their own story telling. I’ll have a pillow case of props and the rule is they HAVE to include whatever they pick in their own stories. Some of the ideas the children come up with might be weird, wonderful, hilarious or bizarre…but they are always brilliant!
What is your favourite game – can be boardgame, computer game or physical game!
I love, love, love The 1% Club! I love watching it on TV and we play the board game at every family gathering too. I’ve got the 1% question right more than once but, unfortunately, this has only ever happened when I’ve been knocked out in an earlier round.
Do you sit down and have brainstorming ideas to come up with new ideas, or do they come to you randomly as you have your normal routine?
Both! Sometimes a publisher might say they want a picture book about Autumn. In this case, I’ll sit down and will scribble ideas and lines in my notebook. Eventually, if I’m very lucky, these scribbles and lines turn themselves into stories that I’m proud of. But, sometimes, an idea will just come to me out of nowhere. I could be driving my car or talking to my children or listening to the funny conversations that children have during my school visits and it will be like a lightning bolt striking!
Darker evenings mean early nights with more reading time for us – what is on your current to read list?
I’m currently reading Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s autobiography – I would have loved to have been an Olympic athlete…I just lacked both the motivation and the skill! I’m also rereading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It’s one of my all-time favourite books and I reread it most years.
What are you looking forward to this Christmas?
I’m looking forward to so much! The Christmas decorations, the lights, giving and receiving presents, spending lots of time with friends and family, the board games and, of course, plenty of reading!
Quick Fire
All inclusive holiday or backpacking?
Backpacking but with a bit of luxury please – I don’t want to share a dorm and I definitely need my own bathroom!
Planner or spontaneous?
Spontaneous
Favourite animal?
Dogs
What makes you laugh the most?
My friends. They should form a comedy troupe!
Best Christmas cracker joke?
What do you get if you cross a snowman and a dog?
Frostbite!
If you were Prime Minister for the day, what law would you introduce?
I’d make every street have its own mini book swap station. People could borrow and return books. It would be a great conversation starter and it would spread the joy of books across the nation!
Arrange for Donna David to visit your school
To make an enquiry about Donna, please contact us as follows
UK visits
Email:UKbookings@caboodlebooks.co.uk
Or contact Yvonne on - 01535 279851
Overseas Visits
Email:Overseasvisits@caboodlebooks.co.uk
Or contact Overseas Manager, Robin - +44(0) 1535 279853