The Absurd Ladybird book launch — Gullivers Farm Shop & Kitchen

Have you heard? The Absurd Ladybird is coming to Gullivers Farm, Shop and Kitchen on Saturday 23 September! This is a book launch like no other, with free craft and colouring activities in the Orchard, a new Nature Trail, plus the opportunity to book tickets for Storytime, drawing and creative dance class in the Gullivers Yurt.

We spoke with the author Sarah Crisp about her brilliant new book and find out more about what it’s like to be a children’s author.

You’ve got a dream job, Sarah! Have you always wanted to be an author? How did you make it a reality?

Being completely honest, the prospect of being an author never crossed my mind! But I can say, from a young age, I have always wanted to work with children. I started my career as a nursery practitioner and then went on to become a teaching assistant for reception-age children.

My days are filled with reading children’s picture books – at work and at home. I have always enjoyed writing, but only for fun. It wasn’t until an act of kindness in the form of a treasure hunt that my writing journey really began.

A colleague and friend of mind read the poems I had written for her treasure hunt and suggested I wrote a children’s book. I spent the Christmas holidays putting my hand to work and Rabbit’s Curious Plan was born.

Tell us about your second book. The Absurd Ladybird. How did the idea come about?

My children (aged 4 and 2 years old) are my biggest inspiration. So when my daughter Olivia went through a stage of wanting to wear her pink Easter bonnet and floral wellies or 1,000 bows in her hair for the supermarket, it gave me an idea. Let’s celebrate our individualities!

There is more to us than clothes and fitting in with the ‘norm’, so let’s embrace our uniqueness and promote self-acceptance.

The Absurd Ladybird celebrates these themes of uniqueness and self-acceptance throughout the story. Why did you feel it was important to focus on these?

I really do believe these themes are so important for all readers to hear. The earlier we discuss these topics with children, and begin to normalise our differences, the more of a difference we will make.

What do most people not know about reading books, but probably should?

To make it fun! Use lots of voices and expression, pull silly faces and make it engaging. It’s so important for early language development to expose children to singing, rhyme and reading, that we need to fully embrace the stories to help embed a love for reading to help extend their vocabulary.

Give children time to look deeply at the illustrations and ask questions to help build their imagination. Let storytime be a moment where you and your child connect.

And, finally, it’s okay (and totally normal) for children to want to read the same bedtime story for the 50th night in a row (even if the parents don’t!), they are still learning something new every time they read it.

For anyone thinking of writing their own books, do you have any advice?

Find contributors that understand your vision and end goal. I found out about Lee through a mutual friend and was blown away by the work I saw on his Instagram page. For Rabbit’s Curious Plan he managed to bring a character to life better than I could have imagined. He has continued to work tirelessly to draw the most vibrant, engaging and captivating illustrations for The Absurd Ladybird.

Lee has also designed the character boards and booklet for the upcoming Nature Trail at Gullivers. He has done a fantastic job.

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