Cressida Cowell is a gifted author with a real talent for taking her readers right inside her fantasy worlds. Now we have the start of a great new series, with more to look forward to...The illustrations by the author are an outstanding feature of the book - they really convey the atmosphere and propel the reader into this fantastical world. Totally absorbing. * Parents in Touch * Children's Laureate, and former Marlborough student, entertains at LitFest". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald . Retrieved 15 January 2023. We caught up with her to find out how she ended up writing her books and where she gets her inspiration from. Plus, she gives us her expert tips on writing and illustrating.

This year, our Halloween adventure trails have been inspired by Cressida Cowell, author of the best-selling Wizards of Once series. Xar– A boy from the Wizard tribe. Youngest son of Encanzo the Enchanter, King of Wizards, Xar is rebellious, brave, has a heart of gold and is determined to prove himself. Adventures are fun and can bring out the best in you. Misfits can grow into their power, and can earn the respect of their parents and others. People who seem to be enemies may have good qualities and end up being allies.LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. It’s a time of real magic: magic that is despised by the warrior tribe, whose very fierce leader (Wish’s mother Queen Sychorax) has sworn to remove from the world. But Wish has got her hands on a secret magical object that she’ll do anything to hide (and Xar will do anything to get his hands on). The Wizards of Once is the thrilling story of what happens when Wish and Xar meet.

Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments

Thank you, Miss McDonald! She was my history teacher in upper 4M and she set me a history essay task which was ‘imagine you see Vikings on the horizon’. I wrote a whole creative writing essay in my history lesson! You can be inspired by your own experiences. Ideas I had about Vikings and dragons during summer holidays when I was 9 years old became 12 books, and a film and TV series. I had a slightly unusual childhood (I spent my summers on an uninhabited Scottish Island), but the world we all live in is full of extraordinary, wonderful idea for stories. You only have to watch an episode of Blue Planet to see that’s true. The first volume of a new series by author and illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon series is an event....Funny, thoughtful and surprisingly wise and lively, this is another coup from Cowell The Sunday Times For Wizards of Once, I was wanting to have a personification of evil magic. And I just couldn’t think of a better word than ‘witch’ because it carries such weight. The word ‘witch’… suddenly you’re thinking of the witches in The Wizard of Oz, for example. Because we’ve got such a history of believing in terrifying witches in the past, I think it’s the associations that that word carries. I was very careful to make the witches both male and female because I don’t approve of how witches are often made out to be only female! I could have gone another way but that’s what I chose the witches to personify.