Dorney school literacy project gets an alien penfriend

The official opening of Dorney School’s(www.dorney.bucks.sch.uk) ‘Jungle Retreat’ Reading Project had an extraterrestrial theme when author Faiz Kermani visited the school to talk to the children about his fiction book, "My Alien Penfriend” (www.myalienpenfriend.co.uk).

The ‘Jungle Retreat’ was previously a tired old ‘demountable hut’ that nobody really cared to visit. However, with the help of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and the Pineapple Pub it has been transformed into an exciting place where pupils can enjoy quiet reading, circle time, after-school clubs and it will even be the home of the newly formed Dorney Youth Club. It was also a great place to meet an alien!

Suitable for the 8 to 12 year old age group, My Alien Penfriend examines the relationship between an eleven year old boy (Darius) and Zmod, an alien from the distant planet of Bartoch which began when Darius joined the Inter-galactic space Club. Over time, the two children communicate across the galaxy and form a friendship in their quest to learn more about each other’s planets.

As well as hearing extracts, children from the school took part in a variety of book-related activities including drawing their own ideas of what an alien penfriend might look like.

“The visit was great fun and the children came up with some terrific ideas,” commented Faiz. “They have no shortage of imagination and I hope they will use them in writing their own stories.”

Headteacher of Dorney School, Paula Allen said ‘The children had a fantastic day meeting Faiz, they gained inspiration an ideas for their own writing and are already asking to borrow his book from the school library’.