Pupils at Lorne Primary School in Edinburgh will help Scottish children’s author Lari Don launch the final book in her award-winning First Aid for Fairies children’s fantasy series next week, but meantime we have a competition for you! (See below)
The pupils of Lorne Primary School are big fans of the series and will celebrate the publication of the last book, Maze Running and Other Magicial Missions, by creating artwork based on their favourite fabled beast characters.
The popular series, in which a group of mythical beasts (including a selkie, a centaur, a dragon and a phoenix) take part in adventures all over Scotland, began with Lari Don’s debut novel First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts, winner of a Royal Mail Award for Scottish Children’s Books.
Lari explains why she’s returning to Lorne Primary to launch the book: “The pupils at Lorne know my fabled beasts almost as well as I do, and have created pictures of their favourite characters from the books to mark the end of the series. Lorne Primary is the perfect school to launch this last book, because they have a phoenix as their school badge, so this feels like Catesby the phoenix’s school!”
All four books in the First Aid for Fairies series are set in real-life locations throughout the country from the Borders to Orkney. Last year Lari launched the Set the Scene Competition for primary school pupils to suggest locations to be used in Maze Running and Other Magicial Missions. The book’s heart-stopping opening takes place in the maze at Traquair House in the Borders, as suggested by competition winner Emily Wright, where one of the series’ main characters is almost fatally injured.
Ending the First Aid for Fairies series, which has spanned four books and taken more than 5 years to write, is a difficult process for Lari and some of the books’ readers. The first book in the series was Lari’s debut novel and Maze Running will be her 11th book. “It was a hard decision to end the series after four adventures, because I’ve had such great feedback from readers about these characters and this world,” she explains. “But the characters have grown up so much over the four books that if I kept writing about them, I’d be writing about teenagers, which would be a different kind of book entirely! Also, I have a lot of other ideas I want to explore. Saying goodbye to Helen, Yann and the other fabled beasts is very sad, but I hope readers will keep enjoying these books, and that they will also enjoy whatever I write next!”
Lari will be visiting Primary 5 and 6 classes at Lorne Primary School on Tuesday 19th June, to see their artwork and read to them from Maze Running and Other Magicial Missions.
Lari has worked in politics and broadcasting, but is now a full-time writer. She grew up in the north-east of Scotland, and lives in Edinburgh. She is the author of the First Aid for Fairies series and Rocking Horse War for older children, as well as three picture books for younger readers, The Big Bottom Hunt, How to Make a Heron Happy, and Orange Juice Peas. For more information visit www.laridon.co.uk
The Edinburgh Reporter competition to win a set of signed books written by Lari Don launches today. The question you have to answer is this:-
How many books are there in Lari Don’s First Aid for Fairies series?
a) three
b) four
c) six
Please email your entry to theedinburghreporter@gmail.com with First Aid for Fairies in the Subject line and please include your contact details so that the publisher can send you the prize. Entries must be received by us by 12 noon on Friday 22 June 2012. Winners will be notified by email.
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