Andy’s Reading Adventures
Andy Day, much-loved CBeebies presenter, frontman of Andy & The Odd Socks and author of the Dino Dad book series, shares how becoming a father has shaped his storytelling, what television taught him about writing for children and why sparking a love of reading is more important than ever.
How Has Fatherhood Inspired Your Writing?
Becoming a dad has been one of, if not the most, important jobs of my life. I’ve always loved entertaining children – on screen, on stage and in person – but it’s an entirely new level when those children call you ‘dad’. My three kids have really inspired me as I’ve gone on my writing journey, first with the Dino Dad series, then with Dylan the Dino Boy Saves Christmas, and now with my next few projects.
Of course, I try to encourage my own little ones to love reading as much as I did when I was younger so, when I write, I am keeping them in mind. I always want to write something that they will really enjoy reading. I don’t want it to feel like a slog or a chore for any of my young readers (or parents reading to their little ones) to get through my books – I want the stories to be engaging and entertaining, make them laugh out loud if possible and make reading fun.
Having young children definitely impacts the stories I choose to write and the way I write them as well. When writing the Dino Dad books for example, I could hear my eldest daughter’s voice in my head (and my youngest’s, with her cheeky ways!) Those books are for five to eight year-olds and my own daughter fell within that age range while I was working on that project. So I tried to see the world through her eyes and to capture that world-view in my writing.
Not only that, but I based the characters in Dino Dad on my own children. Ruby – the protagonist of the Dino Dad series – is also the name of my eldest daughter. Both my daughter and the Ruby in the books are sweet, sensitive souls, but with huge appetites for adventure. Little Indie is based on my younger daughter, also called Indie, with heaps of energy and a knack for getting up to mischief. My little boy Luca is only a baby still, but even he made it into the Dino Dad series, with an appearance in Dino Dad: Mystery of the Missing Egg – I couldn’t leave him out!
Has your work in children’s television influenced your writing?
People often ask whether working as a children’s television presenter helps with writing for children and I think it must. When you spend years creating content aimed at children through a camera lens, you get a pretty good idea of what appeals to them.
TV presenting trains you to think about energy and engagement. Children tune out if something doesn’t grab them, and they’re not shy about letting you know. That’s the great thing about them – they are brutally honest with you all the time: they can’t be any different. So I think by now, I’ve developed a fairly strong sense of what will keep their attention and what won’t.
In my job as a presenter, I have to ask myself: Is this fun enough? Is it too complicated? Or not complicated enough? Does it encourage them to join in? Am I teaching them something? Will this spark their imagination? And these are all questions that I apply to my writing too. If you imagine you are reading aloud to a room full of children, it’s not all that different from presenting TV for them.
I think that working in kids’ TV has also helped to keep me young-minded. There is a wonder in the way that young people view the world that we can lose as we get older, and I think that it’s really important to try to reconnect with that hopeful way of viewing the world, where everything is exciting and everything is an opportunity to learn.
And, of course, my role as a TV presenter has helped to launch the opportunity to write children’s books for a built-in audience that I love and to reach new audiences as well. For that, I’m very grateful.
Do you have any tips for getting reluctant readers into books?
I know that for a lot of parents today, it feels harder and harder to encourage children to pick up a book over an iPad or a tablet. We are living in a period that is so oversaturated by technology – which of course also has its benefits – that it can be surprising to see the power that a good old-fashioned book can still hold.
The fight to encourage a love of reading is a cause which is close to my heart, both as an author and as a father. The statistics on reading for pleasure are shocking and can be discouraging, but I firmly believe there’s a book for every child, and a way to help even the most reluctant readers discover the joy of stories.
I’m no expert, but a couple of tips I’ve learned are:
1. Lean into their interests
If your child is obsessed with trains, fairies, sharks, outer space, dogs or DINOSAURS -there is a book for that! Start with those books. When children see themselves or their passions in a story, they’re more likely to go back to books for more, in my experience.
2. Get them involved
Nobody likes being talked AT! When reading with your children, give them the chance to really get involved, to immerse themselves in the story. Give characters silly voices to bring them to life. Add sound effects. Pause dramatically. Invite your child to join in by asking them questions about the story or having them take on the role of one of the characters. The more interactive, the better!
3. Don’t make it a chore
If reading turns into a battle, take a step back. It’s important to keep the fun alive! Not everyone comes to reading at the same pace. Offer up a book as a fun alternative to other modes of entertainment, rather than something they have to do. If they feel forced, chances are they will resist the wonder that is reading! Let them choose the book (even if it’s the same book for the twentieth night in a row) and let them come to it in their own time.
Hello! Andy here. If you’ve enjoyed reading about my storytelling adventures, you might enjoy my books too – the Dino Dad series and Dylan the Dino Boy Saves Christmas are available to purchase now and are chock full of adventure, energy, and dino-fun!
Creating stories is one of my greatest joys, and I hope that my books bring plenty of joy to you too!