‘Through the Catflap’ is a new title by award winning author, Ian Whybrow. It is part of a series of ten books; commissioned by Hodder and designed to motivate boys aged 7-9 to enjoy reading. Ian, who is perhaps most famous for Harry and His Bucketful of Dinosaurs, which is now also a popular animated series and the Little Wolf books, didn’t draw on fantasy when writing “Through the Catflap”. The story’s lead character, Thomas, has Cerebral Palsy and attends Megan Baker House.
“We were immediately bowled over when we first visited Megan Baker House. The centre is in a converted barn in a very rural location. It was light and airy and had the most wonderful atmosphere, “ said Ian who has a house where he retreats to write just a few miles away. “The teachers - conductors they call them - were welcoming and full of enthusiasm. One of them was coaxing a little girl with quite severe cerebral palsy to reach forward and pick up a brush. It doesn’t sound like much until you find out that a week ago the little girl couldn’t even hold a spoon to feed herself with. Elsewhere, children were being given muscle-relaxing baths or taking tentative, concentrated steps or lying quietly, listening to stories. They were enjoying themselves.”
Ian and his wife, Ann, were invited to the centre by the director of the charity, Jo Baker-Watson. Jo and the trustees felt that, with their local connection, high profile and a clear love for children, they would make excellent patrons but she also had another, not so hidden, agenda.
“After many discussions with the children and parents, we all felt that there was very little representation of disabled children in young people’s literature. We weren’t talking about books that had disability as a core theme but about stories where the characters just happened to be disabled. We asked Ian if he’d consider writing a book with a character that had a disability,”
Ian agreed to the request and the result is ‘Through the Catflap’: a very funny, very appealing tale of young Thomas, who walks with sticks but so what? His big problems lie with his dysfunctional family, including his irritating toddler twin sisters who think that cats enjoy being dressed up as fairies. But who else can Thomas turn to when they all get locked out of the house? Besides, it's a brilliant idea to pop them through the cat-flap and tell them to look for the keys. Isn't it ...?
“It was so refreshing. They weren’t after money; they just wanted a story that had a disabled hero. These kids just wanted to be represented in the mainstream because they feel they are so often marginalised. I hope that Through the Catflap can help dispel a few myths, blow away some stereotypes and instil a sense of pride and ‘ normality ’in young disabled people - that’s worth more than money can buy,” concluded a very satisfied Ian.
END
Notes for the Editor
Ian is happy to be contacted via e-mail ian.whybrow@
A j-peg of the ‘Through the Catflap’ cover is also attached. Various print quality images of the children who attend Megan Baker House are also available for publication.
About the Author:
“Through The Catflap”, written by Ian Whybrow and illustrated by Tony Ross is published by Hodder and is on general release.
Ian Whybrow has published over 70 books, including the ‘Books for Boys’ series; The Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs series of books and The Little Wolf series of books. He is based in Harrow but has a home in Herefordshire where he often comes to write.
About Megan Baker House:
Over 200 children access the free services offered by Megan Baker House through sessional and outreach work as well as intensive block placements. As well as Herefordshire, children from the surrounding counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Shropshire and parts of Wales benefit from service provision. Families are also willing to travel from as far a field as Wiltshire, Leicestershire, the West Country, Essex, Hertfordshire and London, amongst other places to access services.
Find out more about Megan Baker House and Conductive Education at www.meganbakerhouse.org.uk
For further details, please contact Kirstie Lee
07749218078/
