Meet Tom Percival
It’s National Author’s Day and to celebrate we asked one of our favourite authors, Tom Percival, a couple of questions.
As well as being an amazing children’s author and illustrator, Tom is an artist, video producer and musician.
His book, Ravi’s Roar, is included as part of our Bookmark Box which is given to schools when they start a face-to-face reading programme.
How did you get into writing books for children?
It was sequiturs. I lived in a caravan when I was a kid, we didn’t have very much money at all. I loved drawing but I had seen how insecure creative work could be. So, when I was older, I studied graphic design and started working at an advertising agency. I tried that on for size, but it wasn’t for me. Then I became an illustrator and got a part-time role at Harper Collins. As a complete fluke, they needed a cover for a new series called Skulduggery Pleasant. They liked my design and the whole series took off, so I was lucky that my first foray into publishing was a success. After a time of illustrating other people’s books, I decided I had some ideas of my own that could work and here we are!
Ravi’s Roar is part of your Big Bright Feelings series, which include other stories like Perfectly Norman and Ruby’s Worry. What inspired you to write these books?
I had a slightly strained childhood and I know that life can be emotionally challenging. I think it’s important that children are aware of how their emotions work and why they might feel the way they do. That it’s okay to feel angry or frustrated. I decided that those were the messages that I wanted to make clear in my books.
It’s important because your emotional understanding of the world around you is your world, it’s your reality. If you don’t understand these emotions, you’re like a tiny boat on the ocean being thrown around all over the place. Whereas if you understand your emotions, you’ve at least got some understanding of how to navigate these waves. If you can avoid going straight into the middle of a storm, then things are going to be better. I like a good sailing metaphor!
What role does reading play in your life?
Reading plays a huge role in my life. I read a lot of non-fiction at the moment although I do still love losing myself in a fiction book, it’s just a case of finding the time around all my other projects! But one area where reading is firmly lodged is in reading with my kids. We take it in turns so I’ll read a chapter and then they’ll read a chapter. I’ve been reading the Christopher Edge books with my youngest recently and we’ve both been REALLY enjoying them!
I love seeing them get the same joy out of reading that I had a child.
How do you think your reading skills have helped you to get to where you are now?
They have been everything. If I hadn’t read as much as I have done over the years, there’s no way I would have the skills required to write books. I was so drawn into the activity of reading (especially as a child), I absorbed language, structure and storytelling. I studied English at school, but never at university, so my work has been informed by books that I’ve read. It means that I’ve analysed other authors approach to structure, character development and themes. Reading books has given me my whole career.
Tom has written four books for his Big Bright Feelings series; Perfectly Norman, Ravi’s Roar, Ruby’s Worry and Meesha Makes Friends.
