Inspire

The Power of Reading and Writing

Posted on by luciamwilson

Isn’t it a wonderful thing to be able to read and write?

I love reading books and losing myself in all sorts of stories. I also love writing and receiving letters, real letters with stamps, not just text messages and emails. Does it sound old-fashioned? Well, let me ask you this – would you rather get a real birthday card in the post or a text message? A few words in a birthday card that someone has bought or made especially for you are far more precious than a text message and can be something to treasure. So, next time you are thinking of someone you love and want to send them a text message or an email, why not think about writing a letter? They’ll be so delighted to read your news written in your own handwriting.

It’s easy for many of us to take reading and writing for granted, but many children have limited access to education whilst others struggle to learn to read and write.  In addition, there are also many adults who need help with their literacy, which is why it is so important that charities like The Literacy Trust and the Children’s Literacy Charity exist and need our support so that everyone can access the power and joy of reading and writing.

Lucia x

Cedric readings

Posted on by katieeggington

One of my favourite things to do is to share Cedric’s adventures with children via readings.

I had a lot of fun just before Christmas reading online to a group of Brownies in Leeds. They really enjoyed listening to an extract from the story, Cedric in Paris, which is about the Pet Paralympians and the big race, Le Grand Dash.

Here’s Anne’s illustration of Minnie and Chen, two of the competitors.

After the reading, we had an interesting discussion about disability. I was so impressed by the girls I met and my admiration for the Brownies is boundless! What a great organisation*.

Please get in touch with us via the site if you would like us to do a reading at your school/organisation.

We’d be delighted to oblige!

Lucia x

*You can find out more about the Brownies and the Girl Guides by clicking here.

And here’s a link to the Scouts and the Cubs.

Drawing Cedric

Posted on by katieeggington

When I was illustrating The Adventures of Cedric the Bear I did lots of drawings showing different facial expressions.​

This is a great drawing exercise. The easiest way to do it is to draw a series of simple faces, like a cat’s face.Then choose five different expressions to draw on the faces. They could be: ‘Happy’  ‘Sad’  ‘surprised’  ‘Worried’  ‘Laughing’. Sometimes I make faces at myself in the mirror to get the right expression! Or you could ask someone else to make the face and then see what happens to their eyes and their mouth and very importantly to their eyebrows….

Have fun!

Anne x

Cedric’s fabric

Posted on by katieeggington

People often ask me what Cedric is made from… he is not fluffy like most bears. I wove Cedric using Tencel lyocell yarn which is man made from wood pulp using an environmentally friendly closed loop production process. It is super soft like silk but also strong. This makes it a lovely fibre to work with and means Cedric is a cuddly bear. It is also sustainably sourced and biodegradable which are also important reasons why I chose this particular yarn to work with.

Katie x