RBS Schools Events

Thursday 21 August, 10.30am-11.30am, ScottishPower Studio TheatreS1-4 Keith Gray: Ostrich Boys and Other StoriesEVENT SYNOPSISBe among the first to hear KeithGray read from Ostrich Boys –his first novel in three years –an unusual and extraordinarytale of friendship, loyalty andthe kidnapping of dead people.Keith will talk about the writingprocess, recommend hisfavourite reads and reveal theingredients which make up agreat story. He promises thateveryone will leave brimmingwith ideas and enthusiasm.BIOGRAPHYFormerly a reluctant reader and self-confessed ‘book-dodger’,Keith Gray now lives the life of an avid reader and his writing haswon awards both in the UK and abroad. He is currently ScottishBook Trust’s first ever virtual writer-in-residence and the teenagefiction reviewer for the Scotsman.TIPS FOR TEACHERS• Discuss in class what you think makes a good story. What genres do you like? Which charactersare outstanding? Which plot twists believable? What would make you turn off the TV and reachfor a book instead?• Read The Fearful. Is it simply a story about a lake monster, or is there something else goingon just below the surface? Did Tim make the right decision?• Read a section of Malarkey. Explore how the author keeps the reader engaged. How does afirst person narrative change the perspective of the story? What does it allow the author to do?Debate whether or not Malarkey is a conventional hero.BOOKSHELFOstrich Boys £5.99 (paperback, published July 2008), The Fearful £5.99, Malarkey £5.99WEBSITE www.keith-gray.comThursday 21 August, 10.30am-11.30am, RBS Imagination LabP6-S2The Arctic Hero with Catherine JohnsonEVENT SYNOPSISIn 1909 Matthew Henson wasthe first American to reachthe North Pole, but when hereturned the world refusedto believe him! The prejudiceand segregation of the timemeant that African Americanslike Matthew lived in a worldof shadow. Catherine Johnson’sbook Arctic Hero looks atthe life and times of one ofAmerica’s most modest yetaccomplished heroes.BIOGRAPHYWhen she was nine, Catherine Johnson saw a frost-bitten toe in herBlue Peter Annual and has been fascinated ever since by the Arctic andits amazing explorers. When not writing books about people travellingto the ends of the earth, she writes for film and television.TIPS FOR TEACHERS• Being a polar explorer is hard, dangerous work. Learn more about adventurers like Matthew Hensonand the trials they face when on expedition.• Matthew would ask questions and learn from indigenous people when travelling through harshwilderness, which proved vital to the success of his expedition. Learn more about the originalsettlers of the Arctic and their way of life.• Research pictures and stories about African Americans from Matthew’s time. What sorts of jobs didthey have? What affect did society’s laws have on their lives? In what ways were they segregated?BOOKSHELFArctic Hero £5.99, A Nest of Vipers £5.99, Hero £4.99WEBSITE www.catherinejohnson.co.ukEDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL RBS SCHOOLS PROGRAMME7