What can you tell us about your new book Gobble Gruff?
Sam Curry
Part ogre, part cat, Gobble Gruff tells the tale of an oversized beast living in a magical forest surrounded by friends and family who are a fraction of his size. In winter all the Gruffs compete for a magical prize but Gobble finds it hard to keep up because he's so large. However, he doesn't give up so the story has a strong moral message just like Snottydink. We've tried to include a fair bit of humour and the whole book is written in rhyming verse so it has a nice sing-song quality.
Why is the perfect Christmas read for children and parents alike?
Winter is all about being curled up inside with a good book and this is that book for children. It's ideal to be read aloud because of the rhyming verse and the whole thing is beautifully illustrated by Dominic Trevett. The story is set in a magical snowy land and all the competitions have a winter theme. There's a lot of magic in the story, which I think makes it perfect for this time of year.
Did you expect for Snottydink to receive the praise it has done from the likes of Cressida Cowell and Yasmeen Ismail?
Absolutely not. I loved working on the project, despite how stressful it was. As an English graduate and a tutor I felt personally invested in the task, and, whilst I know it was a point of criticism in the show, I wanted Snottydink to be something I'd enjoy reading to my children. Both Cressida and Yasmeen recognised the time constraints and being authors, obviously have a keen appreciation of how hard it is to commercialise something that's essentially a creative product. Their support made me glad I stuck to my guns in that task.
Why do you think you and Elle work so well together as a team?
It's so great when writing to have someone like her to bounce ideas off. If I was writing alone it would probably take me a lot longer to come up with the story and I'd go away and agonise about what I'd written and how to edit it. She's good at throwing me curve balls anytime I get stuck in a creative rut and working with her is just a lot of fun! I can't tell you how much laughter there was in creating this book. She's also great at reining me in when my ideas can get a bit too lofty!
Why is it important to convey a moral message in children's books?
We're like sponges when we're young, we just want to learn and absorb everything we can, so I think that's the best time to teach lessons about acceptance. Stories have always been used to teach us something about humanity because they make dry morals much easier to understand and remember. I can still remember stories from when I was little about not giving up, about greed, about acceptance, so I hope Gobble Gruff is remembered by the children who read it.
There was a lot of disagreement over using bigger words in the first book, so why did you feel that they needed to be present in Gobble Gruff?
All books should be educational in some sense, they certainly shouldn't read like textbooks, but you should always feel like you've learnt something or think differently by the time you've finished a good book. Young children learn new words all the time, they don't know which words are 'difficult' and which are 'easy', some might be longer certainly, but it's all part of the same process for them. That's partly why rhymes are so important in Gobble Gruff, because they use sound to help young readers pronounce new words that they might not have heard before.
Why was it important to you to draw inspiration from the likes of Beatrix Potter, Kenneth Grahame and Aesop's Fables?
Those books and authors have stood the test of time. There is something universally appealing about their stories. All of their works contain a strong moral message wrapped up in a gripping narrative. That's exactly what we are going for on this project.
Who were your favourite reads when you were young?
I loved Beatrix Potter when I was very young as well as The Hungry Caterpillar and The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark: all moral stories that have great animal characters. As I got older I was completely addicted to Harry Potter as were most 90's children. I don't think I trust someone who didn't read J. K. Rowling growing up in the 90's!
Do you have plans for any more books together or apart?
Absolutely, this isn't a one off project. We wanted to get this book ready in time for Christmas given the great response to Snottydink. We'll definitely be writing more books over the coming months, we've had a few early conversations with publishers, so watch this space!
