Pupils in the Junior Boys’ School were excited to join a live, online talk from Sir Lenny Henry about his books: ‘The Boy With Wings’ and ‘The Book of Legends’.
Sir Lenny talked about being an author and why it is such a great job: he described it as entertaining himself and ‘like a computer game you can create yourself with a pencil’! He shared some of the issues he tackles in his books and how they relate to his own life. For example, he discussed the bullying he faced in school and how he used jokes to get through this difficult time. He said that words are important, as evidenced by the Viking characters in ‘The Book of Legends’ who use jokes to fight rather than weapons.
He also talked about writing stories that feature characters who look like him. When he was growing up the books he read didn’t have any black or brown characters, and he said that he wanted a quest book that had that kind of representation.
The talk also included readings from both ‘The Boy With Wings’ and ‘The Book of Legends’.
Towards the end of the live talk, Sir Lenny answered questions from the audience. He talked about the experience of becoming a knight and meeting the Queen. He was asked where he gets his confidence, and said that it comes from his mum, who came to the UK alone and got a job, before sending for his dad to join her. He also talked about being recognised as the voice of Zog!
