The Return of the Rodent

Maybe I should be concerned when the boundary between fiction and reality seems to blur. Remember that little squirrel from a couple of earlier posts? Well, right now I really do feel as though I need to have a word with him. So anyway… um… I’ve decided to just go with it…

Ahem! Excuse me.Squirrel blog post 1

 

Yes, my little rodent friend. What have you been up to, may I ask?

Miss Marshall's problem cropped

At Ingatestone and Fryerning C of E Primary School, Miss Marshall’s class had an uninvited visitor.

Have you been nibbling things you shouldn’t?Squirrel blog post 2

 

Squirrel blog post 3Me? Well, I suppose I have been a bit busy with other things. In fact I was just drawing this illustration for the official Dick King-Smith website, (not yet live, but you can see some tweets here), when I heard about Miss Marshall’s rodent visitor.

School mouse for blog

B&W ink illustration of ‘The School Mouse’ for Dick King-Smith’s website

What a coincidence, I thought. So I told Miss Marshall about Flora, the intelligent rodent from Dick King-Smith’s book, The School Mouse. In return, Miss Marshall showed me some of the amazing creative homework her class had done on the theme of rodents. 

Beautifully imaginative written work, a fabulous model of a squirrel and even rodent cakes!

Beautifully imaginative written work, a fabulous model of a squirrel and even rodent-themed cakes!


Could I fit that cheeky Ingatestone squirrel into one of my stories? Well that set me thinking about you again, my little squirrel friend.Squirrel blog post _4

Oh dear. I’ve kept you waiting a long time, haven’t I?

Squirrel blog post 6

Squirrel blog post 7

We’ll see…

If there are, they’ll only be fictional pens, OK?

 

 

Posted in Animals, Dick King-Smith, Drawings, Sketchbook, Squirrel, Uncategorized
2 comments on “The Return of the Rodent
  1. June says:

    This little story post made me smile… thank you for sharing it.
    The creatures we create for books can become very real to us, which is how they gain their ‘life’ when drawn.

  2. Zoe says:

    Ahh, bless! How cute is that little guy?! Hope you find a home for them soon, with plenty of pens in the meantime to keep him happily chewing!

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Layn Marlow

Here's a bit about what's going on behind my picture books for small people...

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