‘Student with dyslexia brave to read with me’

Novelist Stewart Foster has visited eight schools this week, including a trip to Alderney, and wants to encourage young people to open up about their struggles.

‘Everyone always says about trying to get children to read, but I like to focus on getting them to think and talk,’ he said.

‘Because I write about mental health, I think the whole point is that we need to talk about it and the best way is if I write something that people can talk about.’

During his talk with Key Stage 3 at La Mare De Carteret High School, a student with dyslexia stood up with Mr Foster and read with him.

‘He was amazingly brave, and it did not matter if it was particularly slow, or poorly read, the nerve and courage for him to get up and do it made it all worth it for me in that moment.’

Mr Foster said that younger students have a lot to put up with in the age of social media, which follows them everywhere.

In writing about mental health, he tries to remove labels, making his characters human in the first instance and then introducing the problem that they struggle with.

‘It’s been really interesting listening about his life and how he writes his books,’ said Kelynn Goubert, 13.

‘I like that things that happen around you can impact on the way you think and it can influence your writing so other people can read it from your perspective.’

Wills Coleman, 13, said it was interesting to hear about Mr Foster’s writing and how one idea can turn into a book.

Mr Foster’s first children’s book, The Bubble Boy, was published in 2016, winning many awards, as well as being nominated for the Carnegie Medal award. It was republished in the US and has been translated into 11 languages.

Since then, he has written four more children’s books.