Children’s powers of imagination

Cressida Cowell
Marquee at Phyllis Court
Saturday, October 4

CRESSIDA Cowell transformed the stage at Henley Literary Festival into the magical world of Berk, home of Hiccup, Toothless and all of their Viking companions.

With her seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm, she conjured dragons, daring adventures and the spirit of imagination itself, inspiring an audience of children and parents alike to step into her wonderfully wacky extraordinary universe.

The event celebrated her latest book in the bestselling series How To Train Your Dragon, Doom of the Darkwing, much to the delight of the young readers in the room. Taking the audience behind the scenes of her creative process, Cowell shared the building blocks of her fantastical worlds.

Quoting Einstein, “Knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the entire world,” she spoke about the power of children’s creativity, which she described as a kind of superpower. She disclosed her biggest writing secret: storytelling is like telling a really big lie, starting with something true and then pushing it “...a little bit too far”.

Through her interactive discussion, she shared with us the meticulous research she conducts to bring the island of Berk to life. From blending an anglerfish from the creepy depths of the ocean with a glorious winged ray, to weaving wonderful tales of Vikings together with her own outdoorsy childhood, she showed the care behind her creations.

She then set the children a challenge to write using all five senses, encouraging them to bring their own stories to life.

Cressida Cowell’s event was not just about promoting her new book but about inspiring the next generation of storytellers from authors to producers, screen directors and creatives. She urged the children in the audience not to be discouraged if, like herself, their ideas tumbled out faster than their hand could keep up.

She insisted that storytelling is not about perfect spelling or neat handwriting but about the magic of the ideas themselves. She highlighted the value of books, explaining that research shows children who read more are likely to be healthier, happier and even more successful later in life. Her lifelong advocacy for children’s reading has been a defining part of her career. During her time as Children’s Laureate, she successfully campaigned for the opening of 1,500 libraries across the country. On Saturday, she spoke passionately about the ongoing importance of children’s access to books, welcoming the recent announcement that all schools across the UK will have a library by 2029, news that Cowell was delighted to hear.

In just an hour, Cowell packed in a remarkable amount, revealing the methods to her madness, sharing snippets of David Tennant as voice of the audio series and images of the brand new How to Train Your Dragon theme park village at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, and even had time to promote her other series, The Wizard of Once.

With a jam-packed talk, there was little time for questions, but Cressida Cowell’s talk had obviously inspired one little girl of about four who managed to ask, “Which book shall I read first?” Her delightful question brought the event to a close.

Maya Lawton