It was an early start today as we headed to Tadworth Primary School in Surrey. Sheena and I were greeted with a Dave Pigeon treasure hunt and a huge pile of books to sign before we ran our four workshops with pupils from Year One to Year Six.
We created alternative endings for Dave Pigeon and Skipper. First up, Years One, Two and Three; they took the pigeons on an adventure to an underground hideout where a pigeon-hungry mole was waiting for them. Thankfully, the pigeons escaped after they craftily created mud pigeons to fool the poorly-sighted mole.
Next up were Years Four, Five and Six. They took the pigeon duo on a trip to the rubbish dump where the feathery pair hatch a plan to drench Mean Cat in water. However, Skipper mistakenly dumps a bucket of water on top of a mongoose who hunts the pigeons down. As Skipper flies to safety, Dave manages to escape the angered mongoose, with the help of a bucket and a hill to roll down.
After our story-building workshops, Year Four created fifty new villains for us. I came away, as ever, inspired by the creativity of these budding young writers and illustrators.
Thank you so much to The Alligator’s Mouth bookshop and all the staff and pupils, especially headteacher Justin Kelly, who helped to make our visit so pigeontastic.
(Pictures from Tadworth Times, Tadworth Primary School)