Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
2 appearances
Award-winning author and children's laureate, best known for the Knots and Crosses series.
On the island
Eight records
Abantwana Uniting Nations Together
Joseph Shabalala is the the lead singer is such a brilliant songwriter. And I just love the sentiment of this and I love the a cappella sound and I love the message in this song as well.
I love Bob Marley. I love the way it's arranged. It's just him and his guitar, and the words I feel are so moving.
I chose this one because this is the first song I remember listening to on the radio that made me laugh, howl with laughter. And even now I defy anyone to listen to this song and not have a smile on their face.
Jennifer Larmore & Hei-Kyung Hong
I used to do piano lessons when I was younger and I gave them up. And then I heard this and I and it made me want to take up the piano again and that it it's one of those songs that that I hear and it just brings a sense of calm and peace over me.
I love what it says, and it's about. You need to walk in someone else's shoes to really know them, but talk to them, don't assume things. And God knows we need some of this today because there are so many assumptions made about other people or other religions or other races or cultures or whatever.
Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me
The reason I picked this is because it's for my hubby, Neil, and that's what he is. He's the best thing that ever happened to me.
I love this song because it says, you know what, you have a voice, and don't let anyone ever take that away from you. And don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in.
What a Wonderful WorldFavourite
I've told my hubby that if I die before him I want this played at my funeral, so I love this song.
In conversation
Presenter asks
5:11How much did you mind your own experience for the heart of [Noughts & Crosses]?
Far more than for any of my other books, actually. Callum, The White Boy in it, some of the things he goes through are based on real experiences I had. Like the first time I travelled first class on a train, and the ticket inspector accused me of stealing the ticket. And that was kind of quite fraught because everyone's looking at me, and I was so embarrassed.
Presenter asks
6:31What occurred to you at the time of the [London terror] bombings, knowing that you had just published [Checkmate] with that [suicide bomber storyline] in it?
It's one of these shocking things. When I was working in computing and I worked in the city, it was around the time of the IRA mainland bombing campaign. And I just remember how terrifying that was… So of course when this happened, there were calls from various MPs who'd never read the book naturally that the book should be banned and I was trying to cash in, etc. And I just thought, cash in, I wrote this. This has taken me two years to write.
Presenter asks
9:12What do you remember about those very early years?
Going to the park and playing and school, and I remember in my primary school learning French and loving that. And we used to have a piano in the back room, and I used to love sitting there and just sort of tinkering away. My very earliest memory is of my dad buying me a walkie-talkie doll, and he pulled the cord, and this thing came towards me, arms outstretched, going, Mamma, mamma, and I went screamed my head off, picked it up and threw it in our open fire.
Presenter asks
18:21How do you look back on [your careers teacher's discouragement] now?
For years, for about three, four years, I wasted my life hating her because I thought she'd ruined my life. I look back at it now, and if I met her, I would thank her, because she did me a favor, because she taught me. That if somebody stands in the way of what you really, really want to do, you don't stand there arguing with them and you certainly don't let them stop you. What you do is you find a way to go round them.
Presenter asks
31:07How would you like to make your mark [as children's laureate]?
You know, at the end of my two years, if one child comes up to me and says, Well, because of what you've done, I'm actually reading now or I'm reading more than I was, then I would feel, okay, you know, I've done some good there. My campaign, my aim is more children reading more.
“I think I learnt more about people and being able to walk in someone else's shoes and see through someone else's eyes from fiction books than I ever did from non-fiction.”
“The Colour Purple by Alice Walker was the first book I read by a black author that featured black characters, and that was when I was twenty two. That's a hell of an age to get to before you see yourself reflected in the literature you're reading.”
“Surely the point of life is to leave the world a better place than you found it, or even with a smile. You can do it with by smiling at a stranger so they feel good about their day. It doesn't have to be huge, huge things, but just about sort of treating people the way you you would like to be treated.”