The Wizards of Once #2: Twice Magic Award-winning author

Author/Illustrator

Cressida Cowell

Cressida grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. The island had no roads, houses or electricity. For the first four years, the family would be dropped off like castaways on the island by a local boatman and picked up again two weeks later. Imagine being like Robinson Crusoe and having a whole island to yourself to explore…

By the time Cressida was eight, the family had built a small stone house on the island, so they no longer had to camp out in tents, which made life much drier. Her father got a boat, so they could fish for enough food to feed the family for the whole summer.

Every year, Cressida spent the long summer holiday, and some of the spring, on the island. The house was lit by candle-light, and there was no electricity, telephone or television, so Cressida and the family lived like people in the olden days. In the evening, Cressida’s father told the children old Scottish tales about the people who lived on the islands round about, who were always fighting and tricking each other, and about dragons living in caves in the cliffs.

Cressida spent her time writing stories, fishing for things to eat, and exploring the island looking for these dragons. These childhood experiences (quite apart from her fluency in Old Norse, of course), made her delighted to be approached to translate the Hiccup memoirs…

After leaving school Cressida studied English at university, and then got degrees in graphic design and illustration at art college. For her final project at art school she created a childrens’ book called Little Bo Peep’s Library Book and was lucky enough to have that book published in 1998. She has gone on to write ten more picture books, including the popular Emily Brown stories, which won the Nestle Childrens’ Book Prize in 2006.

In 2002 she began to write a book for older children. Remembering the stories she had written on the island as a child, these ideas became the book How to Train Your Dragon. There are now nine books in the Hiccup series, and a DreamWorks Animation film of How to Train Y0ur Dragon came out in 2010!

Cressida lives in London with her husband, three children and a hamster.

Reviews

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Case study

Teacher, Karen Beresford takes a look at You Can Create an Outdoor Classroom – Ages 3-7 for us.

This book takes a very different approach to other books on the outdoors that I have read before and makes a refreshing change. I was impressed from the start by the introduction which I felt helped explain the importance of the outdoor environment to reluctant staff. The activities, tips and ideas were well laid out with easy to read bullet points along with thinking points. I liked the thinking points and they did get me thinking- however by the end of the book I felt that many of the thinking points were being repeated. The suggestions in the book were all easy to follow and understand and did not require expensive or elaborate resources or preparation. Although a criticism could be that there was nothing ‘new’ presented here I did feel that the points were all valid and the sort of things that practitioners need to be regularly reminded of.

An interesting scope was put on presenting activities. I liked the superheroes theme but felt that this then became a bit repetitive. I feared it could also encourage aggressive play, but having said that whenever a superhero approach was suggested, there were always suggestion on applying rules and boundaries to stop play getting out of hand. All aspects of the curriculum are covered from the typical social and physical to maths and language opportunities, proving just how much the outdoor area can offer. It also considered all the practical issues of using the outside- group size, safety, observations, rules and boundaries, SEN, i.e. many of the ‘excuses’ typically offered as to why the outside area cannot be used. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on developing independence and involving the children and planning for the outside area. The book was different to many other practical early years’ books in that it did not set out precise activities and there was no reference to stepping stones or early learning goals.

Not all ideas were linked specifically to the outdoor area which I initially found a little strange, but on reflection I realised this helped show how the outdoor area should be seen as an extension of the indoor area- for example, snack times can be outside. The book does provide ideas for the age range it is aimed at (3-7 yrs). Good links are provided to help develop points further- books, websites, teachers TV programmes. To improve the book I would like to see a few precise activity ideas and I would also like more mention to be made of the challenges faced by setting with only a very small outdoor area. To conclude- this book is good for outdoor inspiration but also as a general read for reminders to staff of all round good practises. It has not however left me with any set ideas of an activity I would like to do outside. Rather it relies on the reader being inspired and developing the ideas presented in the book. Therefore it is best suited to proactive, reflective practitioners and not as a quick dip in book for activity ideas. It would also be a good book for students.

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