A Change of Direction

I have just come to the end of another project and it's been something of a departure for me. It's called 'Match Wits with the Kids' and it's a fun, educational book.

Despite having been a teacher for the last 14 years, this is the first time that I have put my expertise in that area to use in my writing career. Writing it has been unlike anything I've written before, apart from possibly a worksheet for a class of children to tackle. It's not the longest thing I've written but it's the most dense, where practically every sentence is trying to convey something factual and informative, whilst in an entertaining and interesting way.

The inspiration behind the book was to write a revision guide for parents. The premise is that as your own children progress through the school system they start asking you more and more difficult questions when they need help with their homework, usually about things which you learnt at school but which you've since forgotten.

'Match Wits with the Kids' provides some basic information in seven subject areas to help the struggling parent keep up with their children. The text is written in a light-hearted way, that attempts to demystify such things as simultaneous equations, the history of Britain from the Norman Conquest through to the end of the Second World War, the Sciences and even how to use the English language correctly.

The seven subject areas covered are English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, Modern Foreign Languages and Classics. The information is presented in handy, bite-size chunks and is accompanied by illustrations and diagrams throughout.

'Match Wits with the Kids' is out this July from Icon Books, and every parent of Key Stage 3 kids will be glad they picked it up!