Author & Artist
The Tales of Harry Also
In this modern Scottish fairytale we meet Harry Also, storyteller and scarecrow, in an organic vegetable garden at the foot of the Campsie Fells, ‘between here and there’. He is an optimist, a patient fellow, after all he can’t go anywhere, and recounts numerous stories to the fairy folk of Handbag Wood. Harry, along with his best friends Peawee (the Wuidwisp) and Button-Box (a cheeky crow) will show readers just how strong a community can be through support, love and adventure. Can Harry stay awake to see a Shetland lamb born? Will he experience the taste of warm honey? And can he save his friend from the vengeful clutches of the Droigs? Everything seems so serene until Peawee reveals a traumatic secret. Will the compassion of Harry Also unite them to allow Peawee to overcome their history and save them all from evil?
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An inspiring Scottish tale for readers aged 10+, who learn that with inner strength and strong friendship even the deepest of emotional wounds can be healed.
Why Harry Also came to be
Throughout my life I have had the privilege to travel and meet some amazing children and their families. Whilst living at a Riding for Disabled centre I was shown the courage, fortitude and joy of the children and their families/carers. Family addiction, physical and mental abuse is unfortunately something many children experience yet they struggle to find a voice to express the emotions and difficulties they endure through this time and for many years after. A personal experience through the life of a young child and the guilt of a mother that this entails, came hope and the trilogy; The Tales of Harry Also.
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Nature has incredible healing qualities so I wanted to encourage families and children to go outside to experience the countryside or the garden but also to acknowledge young carers and give them a voice. Like the character Peawee, I experienced the realities of caring for someone with dementia when caring for my mother during her last few years.
The wood cut illustrations are created using raw wood; in that way the print lets the woodblock have a natural quality and gives the wood a voice too.
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