There was huge excitement in the Erskine May Hall on Thursday as our Y4 boys welcomed local children’s author and dog trainer (and a karate world champion!) Megan Rix and her two dogs, Ellie and Freya.
Megan Rix, whose real name is Ruth Symes, is well known for her animal adventure books, many of which feature key periods of history – such as her book, The Bomber Dog, which the boys are currently reading in class.
During her fascinating talk, Megan introduced the boys to her two dogs and explained how her love of dogs started when she helped local charity: Canine Partners. Then, after success writing a dog training column for the Bedford Times and Citizen and her book: The puppy that came for Christmas, her publishers asked her to write something for children – and some 18 books later, the rest, as they say, is history.
The boys discovered that the central story in The Bomber Dog is based on an incredible but true story about the ‘Paradogs’ of WWII. The boys even watched some incredible Pathé footage of the dogs’ parachute training! Megan also shared all kinds of true stories of animal bravery and intelligence. For example, did you know that 32 pigeons, 16 dogs, three horses and even a cat were awarded the Dickin Medal (the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross) in WWII? As Megan told the boys, animals, especially dogs, are amazing! The boys certainly had plenty of questions about dogs and her captivating stories.
Megan also shared her writing process with the boys and gave them some brilliant writing tips to take away.
Top tips
- Read lots and lots
- Write lots
- See if you can write one episode for a TV show
- Keep a diary or journal
- Enter competitions
And, importantly, remember, practice makes you better!
The boys left the talk full of enthusiasm, happy with their dog encounters and newfound knowledge – but above all, keen to discover what happens next in their exciting class story.
