I have been very lucky to work with some top writers who also turned out to be very decent and supportive people. They championed me and my work without ever seeing what I had done with their stories. So this week I decided to share video of The Hundred Mile and Hour Dog with Jeremy Strong and Dennis and the Chamber of Mischief with Nigel Auchterlounie. This was a bit daunting because whilst I am confident in my own work the last thing you want is for somebody to say they hate what you do and you should stop.
I needn’t have worried. They both loved what they saw:
“Don’t miss John Kirk’s genius storytelling. He’s brilliant! John Kirk brings stories to life in an amazing way and encourages children’s reading, writing and listening skills”.
Jeremy Strong
“That was excellent John. Thanks so much for showing me and thanks so much for doing it in the first place! You had me laughing within the first couple of minutes. Well done! I loved it!”
Nigel Auchterlounie
It was a great thrill to have the opportunity to tell these stories but I’m even more thrilled that having shared footage of my retellings both authors took the time to watch the films and comment on it. I’m also glad because whenever I have told the stories I have seen myself as an advocate of the author; a sort of unofficial cheerleader for the books trying to encourage young readers to engage with their titles.
As a storyteller you come to appreciate that some words go further and mean more than others and after a lot of work and a lot of miles travelled these words mean an awful lot to me.