David Almond: Mining the Past, by Becky Rodia

A childhood in northern England inspires this author's haunting books

David Almond discusses "life in a northern town" with Teaching K-8's Associate Editor Kate Romano. David's childhood in the English mining town of Newcastle inspires much of his writing.

When David Almond was a baby, his mother used to take him to see his uncle's printing works in their hometown of Newcastle, England, and he would point and laugh at the printed pages coming off the press. "I think maybe that helped me want to be a writer," he said.

David's childhood in Newcastle has been the basis for much of his writing. Newcastle was once an important coal mining and shipbuilding center, but those industries are nearly gone. "It's always been a frontier place," David told us. "Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northernmost fringe of the Roman Empire for hundreds of years, runs through Newcastle, so it's always been a borderland of sorts, a semi-wild place.

"To me, the north of England is very poignant and beautiful. Traditionally, it's been kept out of literature. It doesn't have a literary heritage so, in some ways, I think it's my job to show the rest of the world that northern England is a remarkable place."

The landscape of imagination.
David Almond has drawn heavily from the the physical and emotional landscapes of his childhood to create the remarkable worlds of Skellig, Kit's Wilderness and Heaven Eyes. The mining town in Kit's Wilderness goes by the name of Stoneygate, but the town's monument to those who perished in a mining pit accident is similar to a monument that actually exists in Newcastle. Heaven Eyes, according to David, deals with "the changing nature of the river." The river in the book is not necessarily the Tyne, but David's childhood on the banks of the Tyne certainly helped to shape the story of misfit orphans who run away from their orphanage, only to befriend a girl – the Heaven Eyes of the title – who is even more unusual than they are.

On the fringe.
David identifies with his misfit and off-beat characters. "They're on the fringe of culture, which is what it feels like to grow up in the north of England, where you're on the fringe of English culture," he told us. "One of the reasons I enjoy being northern is that sense of being a little bit remote. You're seen as off-beat, and people don't quite 'get' you.

"Growing up in Newcastle, I had friends who were similar to John Askew, in Kit's Wilderness. They had problems fitting in. I think kids are drawn towards those kinds of characters as well. Kids don't just want to play in the living room, they want to play just over the horizon; they want to be safe, but they want to be just out of sight."

Books come to life.
The fantastical, supernatural elements in David Almond's books have their origins in his childhood as well. David was brought up in a strong, extended family of Catholics. "The notion of a kind of supernatural world blended with the real world seemed a natural thing to us," he said. His book, Counting Stars, consist of short stories that deal largely with Catholicism.

David's novel, Secret Heart, was first released in England, and is now available in the United States. U.S. fans didn't waited for stateside publication of the book, though. At a school visit in Michigan, David found that the kids had managed to obtain U.K. copies of Secret Heart and Counting Stars, and were full of questions about the books.

When he visits schools, David talks about how a book "comes to life – becomes a beautiful, finished product." He shows the kids his "messy" notebooks, in an attempt to "break down some of the aura that's around published books," and show the kids that there's real work involved in writing a book and seeing it through to publication.

The value of a good story. David is adept at answering kids' questions. Not only is he the father of a three-year-old daughter, he also taught for several years, as a means of supporting himself while writing. David taught 11-16 year olds with special needs, and has also worked in primary and adult education.

"When I go to schools, I see some fantastic work being done with my books,"he told us. "Particularly with Skellig, because it's been available the longest. I love to see the kids responding to the books with their own imaginations. I think the imagination plays a massive part in all learning."

During our conversation with David, he affirmed several times that "a good story is a good story." Counting Stars, which was written before Skellig, was not written with a young audience in mind, but the main characters are children, and so publishers marketed the book to children. "It's not at all hard for me to feel like I'm a children's writer, "David commented. "Counting Stars changed the way I wrote. It turned me into a children's writer, and I'm very happy about that. I get a lot of adult readers, and that's fine. Really, though, I just write for myself – and for everybody."

Looking ahead.
David Almond's books are certainly getting a favorable response from "everybody." Mothers and teachers often write to David to say that Skellig is the first book that their reluctant readers have finished in years. For those of us who want to see more of his work, in addition to the 2011 release of My Name is Mina and his latest book The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean (Childrens Edition – Puffin July 2012), there is talk of bringing David's play, Wild Girl, Wild Boy, to the U.S., and theater and film versions of Skellig are in the works.

And, of course, eventually there will be more stories because, in David's words: "A good story is a good story, and kids need good stories."

Becky Rodia, senior editor Teaching K-8 magazine.