Our school community came alive with the vibrant visit of acclaimed children's author and illustrator Sue Hendra. From hands-on student workshops to a captivating parent talk, Sue's energy and insights reminded us why books are at the heart of everything we do here at Alice Smith - we truly value books as gateways to wonder, empathy and joy.
In her first ever international school parent talk, Sue shared personal stories that transported everyone back to their own "books that you can remember falling in love with." She confessed how Mr. Silly "grabbed me... in nonsense land," sparking her passion amid a treasure trove of all the Mr. Men books. From there, her journey evolved: inventing quirky characters like Dave the cat stuck in a cat flap (Oh No! How Embarrassing!), turning mock-ups into published hits, and even pivoting "from illustrator to writer" after a pivotal letter from publishers years after the original submission.
With hits like Wanda and the Alien - a "lovely celebration of differences" that became her first TV show - Sue’s stories always centre on "friendship and connection" through bold shapes and colours to instil that sense of "warmth, innocence, joy and humour" for young readers to enjoy. Books that apply to all tastes, taking feedback to invent these characters.
Sue demystified her "very very simple" creative process: storyboarding by drawing "12 boxes onto a piece of paper" to map how a story "starts...ends" and completing what happens in between, turning raw ideas into approvable gems. Not important about the details at this stage - just pure invention. She revealed gems like No-Bot (a robot whose bottom falls off), I Need a Wee, and superhero spuds in SuperTato - "who is very, very good and nice" - which spawned four BBC series (52 episodes each). "I get to give birth to a character, and then you get to hand it over - they take your baby and bring it to life, send it on all kinds of adventures," she explained her feelings about working with BBC TV teams. Sue loves to "subvert expectations... take the reader by surprise," blending "drama and emotion" with objects brought to life, whether "an egg or a snowball... or any vegetable," each bursting with personality. "Paul and Sue always wanted to make superhero books", like those veggie heroes, all uniquely different - SuperTato was born.
The student workshops were pure magic. Children dove into storyboarding with My Storyboard, embracing their "no inhibitions" stage of life to create freely, taking one of Sue’s characters - Norman the Slug, on ever more whacky and magical adventures. Other children enjoyed turning a regular fruit or vegetable into a superhero or super villian! All workshops had one thing in common - they ignited creativity and imagination as the children embraced silliness and humour whilst seeing themselves as authors and illustrators.
"Children + books = sunshine," Sue beams.
This author "will stop at nothing" - delivering stories that are "shocking, confrontational, disgusting, cheeky, or silly... overly dramatic, surreal, emotional, thought-provoking." Her favourite thing about her job? "Be it an egg or a snowball" - take an object, bring it to life, make
it real to us, and send it on an adventure. It’s about engaging children in a deeper way.
Sue's visit reaffirmed our commitment to books for all tastes, fostering connections that last a lifetime. Thank you, Sue, for the laughter, surprises, and inspiration!