It was a pirate’s life for students at Romsey Primary School this month as they discovered the adventures behind Atticus Van Tasticus with author Andrew Daddo and illustrator Stephen Michael King.
The duo brought plenty of fun and energy to the usually quiet library and left students eager to tackle storytelling from a new perspective.
“On a basic level we are telling them about our book but on a deeper level it’s to give them a love of storytelling, literature, writing and drawing,” Daddo said.
Set in the 1700s, the book follows a 10-year-old pirate with a great imagination and love of inventions.
“It’s fun! It’s also loaded with adult jokes too with the idea that parents can read with their kids and get something out of it as well,” Daddo said.
“It’s deliberately set in a time where there are no mobile phones and no modern technology because it’s poison for this age-group if you want to get them to read.”
Classroom teacher Casey said students had the chance to read chapter samplers from the book and were “really excited” to meet the creators.
“We’re looking at narratives this term and students have been working on writing stories all term. I’m sure once they get some tips from Andrew and Stephen, they’ll be inspired,” she said.
The special visit follows on from Book Week and weeks of creative work from the students.
Andrew Daddo and Stephen Michael King also recently visited New Gisborne and Macedon primary schools. The free visits were organised by Kyneton’s Squishy Minnie Bookstore.
