Children’s Author Chae Strathie: Schools Tour

Brighton and Hove Primary School pupils are all set for a novel lesson in silliness this month as zany picture book author, Chae Strathie, drops into their schools as part of the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour. 1,500 primary school pupils will be invited to take part in Chae’s series of interactive shows as he visits 10 schools in the area.

Chae will be putting into practice his philosophy that children should be encouraged to see books and their authors as fun. From leading silly sing-a-longs to inventing strange characters and reaching into his magical StoryHat, Chae’s interactive events are guaranteed to have even the most reluctant reader reaching for a book.


Chae is well known for his picture books for younger readers, including the award-winning The Loon On The Moon (Scholastic) and The Fabulous Flapdoodles (Scholastic), although he’s currently working on a series of books for older children. His most recent book, Jumblebum, illustrated by Ben Cort of Aliens Love Underpants fame, was released in January 2013 and won a Scottish Children’s Book Award in March this year as well as being Highly Commended at the Sheffield Children’s Book Awards.
His books have been translated into languages as diverse as Spanish, Finnish, French, Korean and Thai and have been reprinted and read the world over. Chae has taken his show across Scotland and England, and has even ventured as far as Bucharest!

Commenting on his upcoming tour, Chae said: “I can’t wait to unleash Jumblebum on the kids in Brighton and Hove – I’m sure they’ll love him! My philosophy is that if an author can present their books in a lively, fun and irreverent way that will inspire children to read and engage with books afterwards. So my events are full of singing, imagination and nonsense. Hopefully the children will still be singing ‘Zoom With A Boom’ and tidying up their smelly socks to foil the Jumblebum monster long after I leave.”

Calum Bennie, Communications Manager at Scottish Friendly, sponsors of the tour, said: “It’s really exciting for us to be bringing the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour to Brighton and Hove for the first time. We’re sure that pupils here will be as inspired as other children who’ve seen the tour, especially as Chae is such an engaging and fun author.”

Beth Bottery, Schools Events Manager at Scottish Book Trust, which is organising the tour, added: “Chae’s lively performances, like his books, are sure to stir the imagination. He introduces children to storytelling with more than just words – using picture books to teach characterisation and story-structure.”

The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour is run by Scottish Book Trust, Scotland’s leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing and is sponsored by Scottish Friendly, Scotland’s largest mutual with over 150 years of experience. The main aim of the Tour is to encourage children’s love of literature through inspirational author visits, which bring their books to life.

Monday 16th June
11.30am Westdene Primary School, Bankside BN1 5GN
2.30pm St Nicolas CE Primary School, Locks Hill BN41 2LA

Tuesday 17th June
11.50am City Academy Whitehawk, Whitehawk Road BN2 5FL

Wednesday 18th June
10.30am Brackenbury Primary School, Locks Hill BN41 2LA

Thursday 19th June
10.30am St Paul’s CE Primary School, St Nicholas Road BN1 3LP
2.15pm Goldstone Primary School, Laburnum Avenue BN3 7JW

Friday 20th June
10.30am Mile Oak Primary School, Graham Avenue BN41 2WN