Page 16 - ALG Issue 4 2017

Interview with...
Interview with Cath Jones, author of ‘Bonkers about Beetroot’
Published September 2017, Maverick Books, ISBN: 978-1-84886-281-4
Cath has been a librarian, teacher, editor, community gardener (vegetable story time anyone?) and now a literacy tutor. She aims to inspire a love of books in everyone. Cath now loves sharing her own stories with children of all ages. She lives in Kent with her partner and a high maintenance cat. When not writing, she grows mutant vegetables on a windy allotment overlooking the sea.
A beetroot infused zebra is quite an interesting concept – where did you get the inspiration to write “Bonkers about Beetroot”?
For a number of years, I managed a community allotment on the outskirts of Margate. We ran some really fun projects there, including story sack making for families. I made a purple stripy zebra out
of Fimo with the kids and instantly knew he had eaten too much beetroot. The idea of a beetroot-eating zebra just wouldn’t go away and eventually emerged as Bonkers About Beetroot.
What is the book’s message
for its readers?
Well I hope people won’t read my story
and think they’ll turn purple if they eat
lots of beetroot! It’s really about believing one can make a difference and about not believing others when they say something is impossible. If you work as a team you can succeed.
What age range is
the book aimed at?
Well I wrote it with the 2-6 age group in mind but it seems to appeal to a lot of adults too. I think that’s because it’s such a funny and quirky story.
Have you plans for any more
vegetable themed stories?
De nitely! I’m working on three different stories at the moment and carrots, beanstalks and pickled onions have starring roles.
Can you expand for us on vegetable story time and the gardening through stories, mentioned in your online pro le? There are some wonderful picture books which feature vegetables and gardening. Sharing these stories with children in an allotment setting is a totally natural thing to do. If a great story helps kids to grow and eat vegetables then that’s just brilliant. In fact, I’ve just recently started volunteering
on the wonderful community allotment
in Whitstable, running ‘Story Time with Cath’, which features stories with fruit and vegetables at their heart. I’m really looking forward to sharing Bonkers About Beetroot with the children there and seeing their reaction to my story.
Could you give any of our readers
with children struggling to read
any tips on supporting them –
maybe gardening related?
Learning to read is not easy for everyone.
I can remember really struggling with it. Incorporating literacy into daily tasks rather than making it seem like a lesson can be helpful. Get the kids to make giant signs for the beds and to read and write instructions on how to plant and grow. Taking gardening themed books to share at an allotment works well.
What other things can children
learn from gardening?
Gosh, where should I start? Gardening with kids is great. There is such excitement
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