Early Years Writer in Residence

Scottish Book Trust's Early Years Writer in Residence project began back in September 2010 and we were delighted to announce Alison Murray, creator of Apple Pie ABC, as the writer who would be leading the project. 

Over the past nine months, Alison has worked with a Home-Start group in Renfrewshire, in an area of socio-economic deprivation, to support parents’ reading and writing skills and embed a love of book sharing with young children within the community. 

During the residency, Alison and the Home-start group of parents worked together to produce a beautifully illustrated story of a little girl who loves to share books with her mother. The book is entitled Little Mouse and we are delighted to announce that the book will be gifted to every toddler in Scotland in the Bookbug Toddler pack.   

We would just like to say a massive congratulations to Alison and all the parents and children from Home-Start Renfrewshire Family Group who took part in the project, the outcome really is something to be very proud of. 

Showcase Event

The residency ended with a fantastic showcase event in Paisley Town Hall on the 18th of May. Have a look at some of the pictures and feedback from the event below.  

Feedback from the Home-Start parents:

"It was amazing to see so many people there and great to meet everyone from HomeStart and Scottish Book Trust" Joanne

"I enjoyed chatting with all of the different people, if they didn't know me they asked what I had done and what I thought. I liked that." Sumi

"Everyone was really interested in who we were and what we'd done." Stephanie

"I think some people were surprised by how brilliant the book is, I don't know what the were expecting." Jayne

"The event was built around the families so the children could enjoy it too, it wasn't formal and quiet." Heather 

"The catering was obviously spot on, the kids were back and forward but the staff were great and chatted to them and helped them." Stephanie

"The impact when you walked into the room was something else, the way the artwork was displayed was really clever." Lyndie

"We didn't know Alison would give us the artwork . As soon as she said it I was so excited I just wanted to get to it and look to see where my sticker was! I love it!" Dione 

We were delighted that The Scotsman published a fantastic two-page spread on the residency. Have a look at the article here. 

You can read some of Alison's previous blogs from throughout the residency here. 

Further information

The project was kindly funded by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland's PARTners fund between September 2010 and May 2011. The University of Edinburgh are currently evaluating the project.

If you have any questions about the Residency, please contact Catriona Wallace, Early Years Co-ordinator on catriona.wallace@scottishbooktrust.com or 0131 524 0180.