Newsletter Nineteen - April 2011

[NB. Click on any picture in the newsletter to see a larger version]

It's an exciting time for me, with a new series, Heart, due to be launched with the first two books, A Dream Come True, and Boys, Blues and Shoes out on 4th July. And my Twitter name is now flyingauthor, so you can follow me if you like.

I've had such fun writing these stories, so I hope you'll enjoy reading them. Ellie Ixos, who features in all the books, is so full of ambition. She never knew her father, who died on a dangerous assignment for his newspaper, but she has his notebook, and she is determined to be a journalist too. She wants to work for Heart, her favourite teen magazine, and thanks to her uncle Patrick, she manages to get some work experience there. From day one, life is never going to be the same again!

Book launches are fun, because they come at the end of months and months of hard work, and it's great to have something to celebrate. But as an author I'm concerned that books get into the hands of readers. Along with many other people I've been trying to raise the profile of libraries. Not everyone can afford to buy books. I certainly couldn't afford to buy every book I want to read, so I use my local library all the time. Did you know that libraries stayed open, even during the Second World War, and yet now, they are being threatened with closure?

Fellow author John Dougherty and I had a friendly competition to see how many library visits we could make in a day. We had some photographs taken of us in this lovely old aircraft to publicise the event. Our competition was just part of an event to make sure every library in our county had a visit from an author or illustrator during that day. It was a magnificent effort, and everyone had great fun, while also making the point that libraries are vital.

Who won? I did…just, thanks to my wonderful driver, Jo, who was determined to fit in one extra library, which turned out to be one where John was busy doing a session! I went to 10 while John managed 9, but I think he did longer sessions than me, and he thoroughly deserved the consolation chocolates I gave him afterwards!

You could say that I'm lucky, because my local library will stay open, but all the mobile libraries in my county are being stopped, making it really hard for lots of elderly people in villages to borrow books. And lots of the little libraries in urban areas are going to be closed, or have their opening hours restricted.

And something happened recently that made me think even more about how important it is for everyone to be able to borrow books to read. We've always taken libraries for granted where I live. But it's not like that everywhere.

When I was in India last year for the Bookaroo Children's Book Festival I gave a little money to my host for a local charity. I had seen so many street children, working hard at trying to survive, and I wanted to do at least something to help them. Here are two children, doing a dangerous job during a traffic jam in Delhi. No school, or books for them.

I knew Jo would find an excellent charity, and she did. It's called Torch, and is a shelter for twenty-five children who live on the street nearby with their families. Torch can't give these families houses to live in, or running water, or electricity. They can't give them beds to sleep in on the pavement, or wardrobes full of clothes. But this is what Veronique, who works there as a volunteer, emailed me about what they can do.

Dear Cindy,

I am Véronique and I live in Delhi where I met Jo. I told Jo about the small NGO of Nizamudin where I work as a volunteer. "Torch" is a day shelter where about 25 street children, aged between 5 to 15 yrs, are welcomed on the morning. It was funded years ago by an Indian woman, Nalini. Children are given care, food, services (shower, laundry) and a basic schooling by a trained Indian teacher, Suchithra.

As you may know according to the "Right for Education Act", just implemented in India, schooling is now compulsory in India between age 6 to 14 yrs. So Nalini has decided time is ripe to bring our children to the local school which can't turn them down any more in theory.

In fact and to go successfully to school a child needs to have a clean uniform, to have slept at night, to be fed three time a day, to be able to do his home work and keep his school stuff safe.... and last but not least : to behave ! You can imagine that it is a challenge when you are homeless with illiterate parents.

That's where Torch is trying to "fill the gap" and where you helped tremendously. Thanks to you, we went Jo and I on a shopping spree and bought about one hundred books for Torch kids. Hard to imagine but these kids have hardly had story books in their hands before. Now they have PLENTY and it makes a huge difference because the staff do not hesitate any more to let them manipulate them. Naturally they love it !

We want to be efficient and I have no doubt that to make them love books, read and write can make a lasting difference in their life.

So thank you so much for contributing. I attach to this mail a few photographs. You will see.

Yours

Véronique

PS : I think you visited Nizamudin dargah. Our children and their families live on the pavement along the park of the main road...

It seems to me a very topsy turvy world where these adults and children have so little and yet know the importance of books, while here we are in my country making it harder for people to enjoy them, by closing libraries.

Cindy

READ ABOUT MY TRIP TO THE BOOKAROO CHILDREN'S BOOK FESTIVAL IN 2010

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