September Artist of the Month – Andrew Clover

Our September ‘Artist of the Month’ is author Andrew Clover.

About Andrew Clover

Andrew Clover writes Rory Branagan (Detective) - Best Children’s Book of the Year, at the Waverton Awards (voted entirely by children). He’s also been an Edinburgh Award nominated comic; acted many TV roles (he was the clown in Ashes to Ashes, but try to forget that); he wrote Dad Rules, a Sunday Times column, and has spoken on GMTV, the Lorraine Kelly Show about child-centred parenting. In lockdown, he trained as a teacher – which was useful last year, when he sailed the Atlantic, and lead a school in the Caribbean, to plant a 1000 trees.

What a visit from Andrew entails

Generally Andrew arrives, and performs The Seven Secrets of Storytelling to the entire school. It’s an extraordinary show to witness, since everyone roars with laughter for the first half hour, then, having, over-excited them, Andrew turns off the lights, makes everyone quiet, shut their eyes, and see a mythic story, in their heads. It’s very effective teaching, because the children learn about mentors, allies, opponents, revelations, and climaxes – while seeing a funny story about sneaking into the Staff Room… Back in the classes, everyone writes the story. Andrew tours and teaches three tips to improve them. At the end, he does another Assembly, in which he reads out nominations for Funniest Story, Creepiest Story, Best Opener, and Best Story. The beauty is that it’s always having fun, with what the kids themselves have produced.

You can read more about Andrew and his school visits here

Testimonials from previous visits.

"Having just said goodbye to Andrew after he's spent the day here at Holy Trinity, I write to thank you for sending him our way. We've had a blast! He came bringing stacks of energy, enthusiasm and fun. The kids loved him and we loved him back! The children loved meeting him in an assembly in the morning when he guided them ever so skilfully on how to construct a story. They left the hall full of ideas and keen to write. Short sessions in every class afterwards before a final assembly when he awarded prizes for the best work went down well and allowed the children to ask him relevant questions in a smaller setting. He inspired every child to produce something of value and they ended the day full of excitement which has made for a great start to our Book Week!"
Holy Trinity School

“We had a great day on Friday. Andrew Clover was amazing, enthusiastic - on the verge of crazy! which the children loved. He totally inspired the whole school, especially the boys and those who do not usually enjoy writing. He provided my class with a workshop which they thoroughly enjoyed as well as visiting our EYFS classes which was filled with fun and laughter.

I have been reading his first book as our end of the day text. This has inspired many of my disaffected readers to buy his whole collection! It was a great day.”
Horton Kirby School

Interview with Andrew Clover

Rory Branagan is very popular, did you enjoy detective stories growing up?

Not so much. All I cared about was running, cycling, football, dogs… but then I got Chicken Pox, and for three weeks I lay in bed, and read The Famous Five, and was hooked by the mysteries, the secret basements, the baddies. So that’s what I write about now, though my books have pictures on each page, more jokes, and more sausage dogs, falling out of planes.

When did you first get the writing bug?

When I was at school, once a week you’d get a title – eg Something Happened To Mr Goosey - and you had to write whatever came to you. Mr Goosey was my teacher. I imagined some arms coming out of the blackboard, grabbing him inside a big mouth, and my friend Gavin and I leapt in to rescue him… Every week, it was the same thing, ‘Sorry, I didn’t finish.’ I had to take the story home, and it was torture: aged 8, I’d write twenty page stories, because there was always something else that could happen… That’s why I visit schools today, and teach them Story Structure. If kids use it, they’ll learn how their stories can stop.

Are you good at solving puzzles and mysteries in real life?

No. Just as I’m bad at the puzzle and mysteries part of detective writing. I’m great at dialogue, characters, and thinking of the basic situation – eg maybe a dinner lady gets smacked on the head, during a school talent contest… - then it takes me ages to think of the puzzle bits – ‘but why was there glass on the floor nearby?’ – and to fit that into the plot.

You bring a lot of enthusiasm and energy to your school visits, what is it about going into a school as a visiting author that you love?

I was quite a successful comic. I’ve played the Comedy Store, for example, but I always felt adults judging me (‘You better be funny!’) Kids are just happy not to be doing Maths. If you can do a decent impression of the headteacher, riding on the back of a cockroach, they’re delighted. There’s a glee, and an energy, and generosity about them, that I adore. And yet they’re also happy to go quiet, if you’re telling something poignant.

What has been your most memorable moment from visiting a school?

Secret 4 of The Seven Secrets is: ‘A hero wants something but has problems getting it’, and I always demonstrate that by telling the school I’m wanting to do a brilliant assembly, BUT… and we imagine all the things that might go wrong. In one school, as we started, a dinner lady peeked out through the kitchen door into the assembly hall. She had mad bulging eyes, and a knife. Instantly the kids laughed. We imagined the dinner lady chasing me round, throwing eggs, beating with spoons. The dinner lady came onstage at the end, to massive cheers, and smacked with a tray… This gave the idea for The Deadly Dinner Lady, my most popular book.

There is a lot of comedy in your books and presentations, does humour come naturally to you, or is it a skill that needs to be practised?

Great question. People say you can’t learn to be funny; they also used to say you can’t practice penalties. But of course you can learn. It’s about making the energy a bit bigger, more cartoony. And it’s also about accepting that we all have naughty thoughts, which can come out, in your writing.

So many books on children’s award schemes cover quite serious topics, why are funny books an important option for young readers and teenagers?

Children have got to want to read, and a book with a more spontaneous, jokey style inspires children to write themselves. Look at Dogman: a kid reads that, and wants to write the same. But within a fast, jokey format you can write very literate touches. For example, in my first book, I made all imagery concern the sea. So, to Rory, all thoughts are coming at him, like sharks. In the next, Dog Squad, all imagery concerned Napoleon. He saw himself as a general, going into battle, to rescue the dogs. So you can leave sophistication in a jokey book, for those who wish to find it. And the odd poo joke too. (I allow myself one poo, per book, and it’s got to be a really good poo).

Do you feel your acting experience helps with your school visits?

Of course. The climax of their stories will always involve the children seeing their favourite teacher, transform into an animal. And if Mrs Jansen the Year 4 teacher has transformed into a crocodile, the children want to see me slither.

What impact do you hope to leave with the young people after you have been in their school?

I actually teach a heck of a lot, during my assemblies. I remember one, where we were teaching adverbs, while I mimed different ways to pick up elephant poo – ‘quickly!’ ‘crazily!’ I also teach nouns, verbs, similes. But really the most important benefit is tangential. By making children laugh, it injects an enthusiasm into the whole topic of literacy. They think writing and books are fun.

What would you say to a young person who is full of ideas but not confident in writing and unsure how to start with a story or worried about their spellings?

Don’t worry about any of that. At its simplest, a story is about someone who goes to a scary place, and their feelings change. If you can get kids thinking about feelings, their writing comes to life. Plus I believe it’s one way this work can be very empowering. I have ADHD, mild levels of Autistic Spectrum Condition, my emotions are verrrrrry strong and overpowering. I wish I had someone visit my school, to tell me it’s normal to feel rage, and fear, and worry – and how to put them into a story.

You recently had a trip overseas to help combat deforestation. Can you share some details and motivation for your trip?

Sure. I decided to sail the Atlantic, to find ruined rainforest to rewild… But in reality, I nearly drowned, I got lost in the jungle, but I found my way to the Lost City of the Kogis, where I had a mystic moment that seemed to crystalise the three secrets of happiness. I found out the average Brit makes six tonnes of carbon dioxide a year (they’ll make three more, if they fly to the Caribbean). But if you become carbon neutral, as I did, you find you become healthier, happier, and filled with connection and wonder. Half way across the Atlantic, I did my 7 Secrets Show to the 16 other sailors, whereupon Paola told me her story – how she’d sailed to the Amazon, to fight against the illegal trade in sharks and turtles, with two men and a dog, (called Dogbeard), and she got held up by pirates. She suggested I tell her story, from the point of view of Dogbeard. Dogbeard (The Dog Who Fought Pirates). That’s got to be a winner hasn’t it?

Do you think literacy has a role to play in fighting climate change?

Sure. I honestly believe that people fly off, say, to Disneyland, (which makes two tonnes of carbon), because they’re bored, and they don’t know how to have fun. Whereas if you’re in touch with your emotions, a trip to the forest is absorbing. And if you’re reading a really good book, you won’t even go to the forest.

What makes you chuckle?

PG Wodehouse. I read Jeeves and Wooster most mornings, and it puts me in a good mood, and makes my mind fill up with words.

Who is a tougher audience – a comedy club or a school assembly?

Comedy club. The only problem in the schools is when the teachers start whispering. I have ADHD so I notice.

Which artists inspire you?

Chris Riddell is a better artist than Arthur Rackham. I adore Emily Gravett too.

Do you think it is important for children to still study classics as well as more recent texts?

I think you should read what you want. My dad is the sort of boring dad who gave me The Complete Works of Jane Austen to me, when I was eleven. I read them. I hated them – so boring: people talking about carriages, and who earned money… I wish I’d read books that suited an eleven year old.

What was your favourite book/author/series growing up?

To be honest, I used to read and read and reread The Blue Fairy Book and The Yellow Fairy Book – all those classic fairy stories. I also read all Roahl Dahl.

There are currently campaigns to highlight the importance of children having access to a library, staffed by a librarian. Why are librarians so great and access to books so important?

As a kid, living in a foreign country, I used to read grown up books, because there wasn’t anything else – Spike Millligan Hitler, My Part In His Downfall. It would have been great to have a friendly librarian. I could have read Diane Wynne-Jones, instead of Jane Austen.

What are you your next goals?

I’m going up to Edinburgh, doing a show of my adventures crossing the Atlantic, and trying to find ways to talk about that work. At the moment, I’m not doing very well. I love, love, love writing, and am bad at nearly everything else – especially making phonecalls, or being business-like.

Quick Fire

Night in with a film or night out at an event?

I’d have a night in with a book. Last night it was Some Kids I Taught And What They Taught Me, which moved me unutterably.

Starter or dessert?

Starter.

City break or exploring the wilderness?

Wilderness. I’m hypersensitive. I can’t take the noise of the cities. ‘Please text 61016…’ I feel compelled to find the station speakers. I want to climb up and rip them down like a mad monkey. I want to shout, ‘I’ve seen it…I’ve said it… I’ve sorted it…’ You don’t get that in woods.

Would you rather be able to read minds or talk to animals?

Hee hee. I’d love to talk to animals, but I think some dogs would be very boring. The smell of another dog’s bottom is probably less interesting, than they think.

What is scarier, a butterfly that can shoot lasers or a rhino made of marshmallows?

I think the butterfly. The scariest thing about the rhino, would be if you tried to eat it.

If you were Prime Minister for the day, what law would you introduce?

I’d ban advertising. Imagine how the whole world would quieten down, and we’d stop wanting things so desperately, and we’d start looking each other in the eye, and having chats.