The Whale in the Woods

Kate Baldwin writes:

Back: Clare, Dave/  Front: Jem, Julian, Florence

The atmosphere in the Meanwood Institute for the Julian Oxley event was just lovely. With the hall decorated in bunting and an abundance of tea and cake, Dave Robertson’s reading of The Whale in the Woods entertained the gaggle of children at the front as well as the grown ups at the back, especially the local dogwalkers that knew Meanwood Park and the Hollies well. We were even honoured to have the real life counterparts of the characters Florence and Jem in the room – Julian’s daughter and family dog – which were adorable and worked the room with Florence sitting on the stage, occasionally waving to her fans.

After cups of tea and slices of delicious cake kindly provided by Julian’s family, he then read a section from his upcoming Florence and Jem book about the Meanseas pirate ship. Florence clearly knew she was the star of the show when she came to sit on her father’s lap in the middle of the reading, while Jem sat patiently wagging his tail.

The Florence and Jem stories were great, passing the hardest test of keeping children occupied for more than two minutes! The Whale in the Woods also had a delightful message at the heart of it: don’t be scared to use your imagination, no matter what others think. The local setting and the characters materialised in front of our eyes also helped to make the book and the event as enjoyable as they were.

Audience comments:

Photos: Richard Wilcocks

I really enjoyed it when they were looking for the whale – J (aged 8)

It is lovely to have a story about the park, thank you a lot.

Taylor really enjoyed the storytelling and receiving the book. Mummy and daddy loved the tea and cake.

Delightful and interesting event. I feel inspired to seek out more LitFet happenings. I especially enjoyed coming to Meanwood Institute – an intimate and friendly experience.

A most enjoyable event – a lovely book (great illustrations). Thank you. PS good cake too!

Enjoyed the reading and book. Good support for local writers. Well done. Good luck Julian.

Excellent reading. Thoroughly enjoyed the story which was made all the better being in the local vicinity.

Very busy event – extremely well attended. Good reading by David.

Fantastic event, fab story, great reader.

Really enjoyed it. Well done Julian!

Kids loved the stories. Great event. Would definitely come to similar.

Lovely event, wonderful atmosphere (and cake!). really enjoyed it.

Excellent event – very enjoyable.

Very enjoyable!

Delightful