The Conyers Street Gang
School Visits
memoirs contained a real-life murder mystery that remains unsolved to this day. After some research, Michael set about fictionalising his grandfather's account and wrote his first children's novel, A Scream in the Dark.
When Michael first wrote his grandfather's memoirs, little did he know that it would lead to a very fulfilling role visiting schools in the North West of England talking about children's experiences during World War Two. But that is exactly what happened, because Tom Boden's
Aimed at the eight- to twelve-year-old range, Michael read the story to his eldest daughter to gauge her thoughts and, luckily, she loved it. She went so far as to suggest that Michael visit her school because it touched on some of the World War Two subject matter her class were learning about. Several years later, and Michael has visited dozens of schools in the Manchester and Liverpool areas, reading to thousands of Year 6 pupils.
Every class is different, but depending on how long he has with a group of children, Michael usually reads about his grandfather's evacuation from inner-city Liverpool to the wide open spaces of rural Shropshire. Upwards of 1.5 million people, the vast majority of them children of primary school age, were evacuated in the first days of World War Two and learning about it is a key part of the National Curriculum for ten- and eleven-year olds. As is the Blitz, the Blackout and Anderson shelters, and Michael recounts a terrifying night his grandfather spent in an Anderson Shelter after the Phoney War had ended and evacuees returned home. At this point, Hitler started bombing Britain's cities, including Liverpool, like never before, killing many thousands on the ground.
What happens?
As well as reading about the evacuation and surviving a bombing raid, Michael also illustrates the war using props that the children get to hold and feel at close quarters. Two particular favourites are the authentic gas mask Michael brings, and the contents of the pillowcase Tom Boden carried with him on his way to evacuation.
There are also ID tags the children get to fill out and keep, and information cards about the characters in the books that the children learn about. It often causes wonder and sometimes shock when the children realise the characters in the Conyers Street Gang were real people and their adventures, in at least some way, really did happen!
What do the children love?
What did they say?
When it comes to children, one thing is clear: they can be brutally honest! So here is some feedback from one of Michael's most recent school visits:
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"It was interesting because it was personal."
"I liked that he talked about his family."
"He used props, which made it engaging because we could touch them."
"He answered all our questions clearly."
"The reading was really interesting, he used lots of voices and he was actually the author!"
If you are a Year 6 teacher or parent in the North West of England, specifically in Liverpool or Manchester, and are interested in having Michael visit your school, please message Jem and we will get back to you to discuss availability. Please note that the price of a school visit is a flat fee of £35 per hour. There are absolutely no additional expenses for any visits within 35 miles of Didsbury, Manchester. Beyond that will reluctantly incur a cost per additional mile. Michael has a DBS certificate and brings photographic ID as a matter of course.
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