| Students at The Hemel Hempstead School were incredibly fortunate to have the multiple-award-winning author Katherine Rundell visit us at the Hemel Hempstead School on Thursday to give an inspirational presentation to Years 7 and 8. Taking us through the arachnophagy of eating tinned tarantulas from the Amazon to the zen of tightrope-walking in Zimbabwe, Rundell led a whistle-stop tour of the creative processes behind her hugely successful books for children and young adults. Introducing her latest work, ‘Impossible Creatures’, she explored the links between myths and legends from around the world, the real wonders of the natural world, and the joy of carefully crafted fantasy worlds. It was clear from her intellect, enthusiasm, and painstaking attention to detail in the drafting process, that the great critical acclaim the book has received is no accident. The author has gone from being inspired by giants of the fantasy writing world such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, to being compared to them. A large number of our students went away with personalised signed copies of Rundell’s beautiful new book, the first in a planned trilogy. |
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