Truro Prep School welcome well-known author and illustrator for a visit

Tom is known for his children’s books including The Story Machine, The Accidental Prime Minister and The Accidental Billionaire.

Tom started the day by giving an assembly before holding a series of workshops for the pupils. He spoke to them about how he embraced his dyslexia as a superpower and learnt to see it as a creative advantage.

Tom then gave some short readings from his books before demonstrating how he creates illustrations from simple shapes. After creating a lion from a circle and an elephant from a square, he challenged the pupils to come up with a drawing of their own superhero.

They all came up with fantastic ideas and were keen to continue adding to their superheroes.

Speaking about his visit Tom said,

“I want them to see that there is more to being an author than just words, it also involves illustration and creativity. I want kids that can write to try drawing and ones that can draw to try adding words. Overall I think it’s important that they have a laugh while they’re doing it.”