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Created: 17th October, 2022

What inspired you to write this book?

I was walking my children to school and noticed that all the trees on the street had been cut down. It was quite shocking to see a once tree-lined street looking so bare. When I arrived at the school, I noticed a sign taped to a big ash tree, saying that it too was going to be chopped down. I did a bit of research to try to find out what was wrong with the trees and discovered that the trees were perfectly healthy. They were being cut down so the pavement around them could be repaired. Nearly 18000 street trees had been identified for felling in Sheffield.

I joined a local campaign to try to save the healthy street trees along with thousands of other Sheffield residents. Some people were devastated when the trees on their street were felled. Trees that had stood there for over a hundred years. It was like losing an old friend.

It made me think about all the changes that had happened on these streets over the century. What were once fields became busy housing estates. Horses and carts were replaced by cars and buses. These trees witnessed it all.

The Sheffield Tree Protests lasted for 4 years. During that time, I worked on Adoette. A story about history and loss, but also about hope for the future. Sad things were happening all over Sheffield, and I couldn’t help but include that sadness in the story. But good things came out of the campaign too: a sense of the power of ordinary people. A community fighting for the greater good against those who hold all the power in society.

Eventually, the felling stopped. Around 5000 mature street trees were lost. Thankfully the old ash tree is still standing outside the school. It found fame recently with an appearance on BBC’s Springwatch, as during the day, a sleepy tawny owl can be seen watching the world go by. I like to think the tree is watching too.

 

How would you suggest primary teachers use this book?

I think teachers could use this book to teach about history, conservation and loss.

The book starts in Victorian times when a new street is being built. The new houses attract families and children play on the cobbled street. A Suffragette can be seen carrying a flag on the way to a protest.

We see the same street during the two World Wars. A house is bombed, and onlookers emerge from their bomb shelters to assess the damage.

The street gets much busier during the 1950’s. Cars and buses roll down the streets replacing the horses and carts. New people have arrived on ships like the Windrush, from the Caribbean ready to work in the growing cities. Not everyone is happy to see them, and we can see a gang of Teddy Boys hanging around on the street corner.

The book ends with a much more mixed community in a street scene we might recognise today. There are 4 generations gathered to celebrate.

We all know how important our urban forests are for our health and wellbeing. Everything must be done to save our trees and green spaces from destruction in the name of progress. Our future and the future of our children depends on it. I wanted the book to show how even when times are hard and sad, there is always hope for the future. We can learn from mistakes and move on.

 

What motivated you to begin a career in writing/illustrating?

I was always good at Art and English at school. I went to art college and started work as an illustrator as a graduate in 1994. The first book I illustrated was called, Bad Bad Cats by Roger McGough.

I started writing accidently as I wanted to demonstrate that I could illustrate a picture book. I never imagined the book would be published, and I was rejected time and time again. In the end, a publisher asked me to send in any ideas I had, and they loved what I’d done. I Wish I Were a Dog, published by Methuen in 1998. It won the Smarties prize that year along with a couple of other books, The Gruffalo, and Clarice Bean! I wonder whatever happened to those authors?!

After that I was commissioned to illustrate other people’s stories including Jeanne Willis, Carol Ann Duffy and Julia Donaldson. I’ve been working ever since. I alternate between writing my own stories and illustrating other people’s.

 

What are the major influences in your work and how do you decide on your subjects?

I just want to write about things that interest me. Books can take a long time, so it must be something that I’m not going to get bored with. I’m not sure about influences really. It’s just what’s going on around me at the time. Obviously Adoette was inspired by everything I saw in my local area. I love history, so this book and the two books I am about to start are all about the past.

 

Which books had a lasting impact on you as a child and why?

My teacher, Mr McCrone read The Hobbit to the class and that had a massive impact on me. It’s a story I never get bored of and would love to illustrate it one day. I would take the audio book out of the library and sit drawing while listening to it.

I was introduced to lots of stories by listening to them. We went to the library every Saturday to get cowboy books for my grandad, but I also came back with records. Watership Down was another favourite as well as Gerald Durrell stories.

As for illustrators, my biggest influence was Norman Thelwell, mainly because I was horse mad and loved drawing horses. I loved his books and spent many hours copying his drawings.

 

Discover Lydia's book Adoette published by Andersen Press...