On the 27th July at Vernon Primary School Harriet Goodwin (Published Author) came in to show us how she wrote her Blue Peter Short listed book ‘The boy who fell down exit 43’! It is a fabulous book which Harriet brought to life using artefacts relating to the characters and the story.
Harriet had a dream in which a boy who is 12 takes his mother’s car, crashes it and falls down exit 43. He then finds the underworld where the dead live. She had never written a book before but just had to get this down on paper. Harriet showed us the draft copies and different book covers that were considered before the final version was published.
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I heard about the book through a national competition Harriet ran on her website and my teachers at school Miss Walker and Mrs Lenehan encouraged anyone to enter – Harriet challenged her readers ‘If you could be one of the ghosts in my book, which one would you be?’ Over 400 pupils across the country entered and I had a fantastic email a short while ago to say I had won! The prize means that her next novel ‘Gravenhunger’ - out in January 2011, will be dedicated to Vernon Primary School and me.
She also will call one of the characters Joel (my name) and I received £50 in book tokens and so did my school! Harriet finished off her inspiring visit with book signing and a challenge to enter her next competition to design a map of the underworld. Please see her website if you would like to enter or would like to know more.
www.harrietgoodwinbooks.com
