I write books for children of all ages and talk to schoolkids about creative writing

HELLO, SPARKLE-BRAINS! 

If things feel a little strange right now, it's because things ARE a little bit strange right now. But smile, it's going to be okay. You may not be able to play with your friends in the playground, but that doesn't mean you'll be bored. Take this opportunity to find out fascinating facts, make art, read books, learn magic tricks, make videos, pick up an instrument, write your own story. To help you on your awesomely busy learning-at-home journey, I'll be putting up videos, story-telling lessons, and links to stuff I think might keep you entertained. All on this page. So keep checking back. AND SMILE. IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY. ​

GET BUSY, RIGHT HERE, WRITE NOW

 *write now = a fun writing exercise, with recommended time to complete / scroll down to explore

A SILLY SILI VIDEO!
​Meet Gareth P Jones and find out what happens when he tries to get his automated helper SILI to help explain some grammar...
Click Gareth's face! 

Why not get SILI with grammar, yourself? Go to LEARN & LAUGH to get a workshop on using grammar in joke creation!

A READING FROM  
​GRANNY MAGGOT!

Get up close and personal with Granny Maggot and explore a simple trick for developing comedy characters. Click the image above.

LET'S GET GRAMMAR
SIMILES

A short video of me explaining what a simile is! Click on the LIKE! Includes a *WRITE NOW / 10 mins.

POETRY READING 
Click the image to go to a video of me reading a poem about a boy in space... If you want to read along, the poem is on my VERSE page. 
With a *WRITE NOW / 15 mins

WRITE A
​NONSENSE STORY!

Writing stories that make no sense is such fun. I used to do this A LOT when I was a kid. My friends and I would read each other's stories and laugh our guts up! How do you do it? Well, there are no rules. Just write whatever comes into your head - the sillier the better. Here's an example, off the top of my head:

I was walking along the street when I fell into a bucket of bees. "That's not my cake," shouted a man called Harry. He tied my shoelaces and told me not to be a nincompoop, which angered the beef stew in the fridge. In the distance a herd of bow-tie rabbits was heading my way and without a green skateboard there was no way I could escape... But wait! The Spinach!

​*WRITE NOW / 15 mins
I bet you could make it much funnier. Why not give it a go! Email it or read it over the phone to a friend to make them giggle. Or send it to me and make ME laugh! ​

LEARN & LAUGH! WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT GRAMMAR?

When Gareth P Jones and I wrote THE DAILY JOKER (which is probably the best joke book on the planet), we noticed that making up jokes involved a lot of grammar. Grammar was the key to the perfect punchline - and we laughed and laughed and laughed about that (which is a pronoun, by the way, just like this). So, we decided to spread the funny and share our secret to being grammatically hilarious with you all. Click the image below to download a very special workshop that will teach you to write your own jokes and become a grand grammar master!  
​

CREATE  A HOOT!

Why not make a loo roll into a twit-twoo roll? Creating a character is heaps of fun. See how yours comes out, and give it:
*a name
*something it loves doing
*something it hates doing
*what makes it special ...
See if you can come up with a story!
You can make your owl much more colourful than mine. Click the image below to go to a YouTube tutorial!

READ A FREE STORY​
+ DESIGN A COVER!

Picture

​












​So, when I first started the JIM REAPER books, I wrote a story called DEAD IMPRESSIVE, which is actually one of my favourites. It's quite a short story, but it's very, very funny ... And because it never got published, it never got illustrated. So why not download this story and do some pictures for it! I'd love to see what you come up with. Just click the image of The Knuckle Crushers (the stars of the story) to download.  ​

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT...

Click on the image. When the website opens, press the play button, close your eyes and listen... WOW! You're in a thunderstorm! Now download the story sheet below and get writing! 
​            ​*WRITE NOW / 15 MINS

WHAT ON EARTH
​ARE THOSE??? 

Click the photo and I'll tell you... 
Includes a *WRITE NOW / 10 mins.

EXPLORE THE SIZE OF SPACE!

Click the image to look around.

*WRITE NOW / 15 - 30 mins.
Imagine you've just discovered a new planet. What size is it? Use the websites to compare your planet to others. Is it a new planet or a really old one. What does it look like? Is there life? What will you call it? Why is it special?

THE LAYERS OF THE OCEAN DEEP!

Click the image to see to discover all the creatures in the sea!

*WRITE NOW / 15 - 30 mins
Create a sea creature of your own! First picture it in your head or draw it on paper. Now, describe it as best as you can in writing - the shape, the colour, the way it moves. Read it to your family, then ask them to draw it. Let's see how well they understood your description!