By Tanya Steele
Primary school students recently came together at the Healesville Library in a creative and sports fusion for an exciting talk by author Kristin Darell.
Students from three different primary schools were treated to a special presentation and workshop by the well known author of the “Football Fever” series on Monday 14 August.
Chum Creek, Healesville Primary and St Bridgets students formed the creative cohort and Children’s Service Officer Rose Herring said it was the biggest event the library has hosted.
“We had over 270 students for the sessions, it was great,” she said.
“My mind is blown by how the day turned out and the kids had a great time.”
Ms Darell ran two back to back workshops to get the students inspired about character and plot development said she really enjoys coming out to more regional locations to work with kids.
“It was an amazing opportunity for me to come and talk about what I’m passionate about – which is stories,” she said.
The workshop went through some tips and ticks for character development and Ms Darell said that anyone can write and read and they can do that in ways that work for them.
“Books are a mirror – you can see yourself in books, which is a good thing for kids to be able to see into other lives but they’re also a door to let you walk in the shoes of other people,” Ms Darell said.
‘Football fever’ action-packed junior fiction series which features real players from the Matildas and Socceroos and Ms Daarell said the books had genuine quotes from real player experiences in them.
“To me the importance of storytelling and creating a generation of kids who believe in stories and want to tell stories, however it is they want to do that be it fiction or nonfiction, because stories are a time capsule,” Ms Darell said.
The event itself was planned well in advance and with the deliberate intention to catch a large group of kids to experience the workshop.
“I wanted to put on an event that was something that the schools maybe couldn’t put on their own that would go across all the primary schools and that we could put on here and it just was great timing,” said Ms Herring.
“We really wanted to get more events out this way for kids,” she said.
“The heart of all the stories I write is really the importance of kids doing something that they love with other kids who love it because then you feel brave enough to be you,” Ms Darell said.
