“The good quality of leadership throughout the school is driving the development of teaching and learning…”
Ofsted Inspection Nov 2007
Author Alex MilwayVisits Tanbridge
Tanbridge House School was fortunate to host a visit on 4 November by the author and illustrator Alex Milway. Alex’s book “Mousehunter” is one of the short listed titles for this year’s West Sussex Children’s Book Award. Tanbridge is working with Arunside, Castlewood, and Saint John’s schools on this award and all the students were thrilled to meet the author of one of the books they have been reading.
At the start of the book a dead sailor is washed ashore in the mousehunting port of Old Town. He has a box tied round his neck bearing a warning to Isiah Lovelock, the town’s richest mousecollector, from Mousebeard, the most feared pirate on the Seventeen Seas. Emmeline, Lovelock’s mousekeeper, soon finds herself on a journey in pursuit of Mousebeard and caught up in a world of sea monsters, spies and mice with all manner of abilities. The students found this an exciting and amusing quest and they were especially intrigued by the ink drawings and mouse notes which accompany the beginning of each chapter!
The students listened enthralled to Alex talking about ”Mousehunter” and its sequel “The curse of Mousebeard”- especially when he put on a large brown beard when talking about pirates! The students then had the opportunity to ask Alex some questions including queries about the inspiration for the different types of mice in the books and whether any of the characters are based on his friends and family.
The students are looking forward to the announcement of the winner of the West Sussex Children’s Book Award on World Book Day in March to see if “Mousehunter” will be successful .