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My Children’s Stories

Although I love writing for adults, I must admit there is something special about writing children’s stories. This ‘sense of special’ seems to come with the freedom of imagination and sense of fun I feel when I sit down to write a children’s story.

girl in wendy house illustrating article about childrens storiesMy own personal compulsion to write, which has always been strong, is even stronger when I am writing for children.

This picture to the left is me as a little girl. It was taken during a trip to Wicklow in Ireland, from where my Dad originated.

EMIGRATION – LIVERPOOL TO IRELAND

He emigrated to Liverpool from Ireland in the 1950s and we visited my Granny in his family home in Wicklow, Ireland every summer.

In the photograph I am sitting in a Wendy House in my Granny’s garden. I can still remember this little house vividly –  the plastic smell and the way it got tossed around in the strong wind that blew across Wicklow from the Irish sea.

I can also still remember how much I loved reading.

A Wendy house, books and me were a perfect match. Both became my escape, my mental and physical hideaway and above all – my joy.

Books were like treasure to me and the excitement I felt on opening the cover of a book was akin to lifting the lid of the wooden box I used to dream I’d found buried in the woods – just like the characters in the children’s stories.

WRITING CHILDREN’S STORIES

Many years later I wrote a great many children’s stories for radio at RTE here in Ireland. These were very popular and I had great fun working on them.

I was frequently asked if it was possible to buy those radio stories in written form so I decided to adapt my children’s stories for the written word and I am happy to say they are now available on Amazon and you can see some of them below.


THE WITCH OF BALLYYAHOO

If you like witches and you like fun, you’ll love this very funny story set in the tiny town of Ballyyahoo.

When Gerry hears the rumour of the Witch of Ballyyahoo, he wonders if it could be true.

Then he sees strange goings on in the quiet lanes of Ballyyahoo, and learns that a crime is about to happen.

It is not the sort of crime that usually happens in Ballyyahoo – nothing to do with donkeys, lights, or hazelnuts.

No, it’s a terrifying crime that starts with a big knife, a big burglar, and that might just end in murder. Gerry desperately tries to save the day. But he realizes that only one person can help him now, and that’s the witch of Ballyyahoo.

But is there really any truth in the rumour of The Witch Of Ballyyahoo?


CHRISTMAS IN BALLYYAHOO

Ballyyahoo is a tiny, magical town in Ireland. Christmas in Ballyyahoo was going to be the best one ever, until Santa and Rudolph show up on Christmas Eve and take all the presents away!

It’s up to Kevin and Gerry, to save Christmas. The boys set off on their bikes, desperately seeking Santa, but when they get lost in the woods near the terrible town of Ballyuseless, Kevin and Gerry begin to wish they’d stayed at home.

Santa and Rudolph are not all they appear to be, and they have no intention of wishing anyone a happy Christmas, especially not anyone from Ballyyahoo. The only thing they want to wrap up for Christmas is Kevin and Gerry!

When the two boys find themselves locked in a box, on a boat, in the middle of the Irish Sea, there’s only one person can help them and that’s the wonderful Witch of Ballyyahoo.


BONKERS IN BALLYYAHOO

A FUNNY STORY FROM BALLYYAHOO

Gerry Mac and his cousin, Kevin both live in the tiny village of Ballyyahoo on the beautiful west coast of Ireland.    The two boys are so bored they get bored being bored.

Gerry likes swinging on a gate but Kevin loves a good prank. Once he let an army of spiders loose in the local pub and he had great craic putting cockroaches on the bread counter at Kelly’s shop.

But, since he got a computer, Kevin’s pranks just got a whole lot prankier. The people of Ballyyahoo are going to see just how much worse those pranks can get!


THE LITTLE BOOK OF SWINGING ON A GATE

A FUNNY STORY FROM BALLYYAHOO

Gerry Mac lives in the tiny village of Ballyyahoo in the west of Ireland. He’s very lucky that he loves swinging on a gate because he can’t find anything else to do.

Gerry Mac doesn’t like it when grown ups get ideas because they usually involve him getting off the gate and doing some work, so when his mother gets the idea to make him do a hard day’s digging in old Paddy Plant’s garden, it’s no wonder Gerry wants to run away.

Digging in Paddy Plant’s garden is not as boring as Gerry thinks because disaster strikes and it’s up to Gerry to save Paddy.


FOOTBALL MAD

There’s only one thing stopping Football Mad Shane from getting on the football team and that’s his lousy header.

The rest of the lads all laugh at Shane when Coach says one-legged nuns and cross-eyed cats make better headers than he does.

Shane needs to practice at home but when his Dad only wants to read books and his Mum only wants to do Yoga, Shane is forced to take drastic action.


FOOTBALL CRAZY

Football Crazy was originally broadcast on RTE Radio One in Ireland.

A warm and funny story about a close family who love football almost as much as they love each other.

Jimmy loves going to football matches and playing football with his equally football crazy family.

Then one day something happens to grandad and nobody wants to play football any more. Jimmy is heartbroken but soon realizes it’s up to him to get his family back in the game again.

Set in Ireland, this popular and warm-hearted story about a family in crisis was specially written to help parents raise a sensitive subject with their children as well as being a comforting and funny story for all the family to enjoy.


THE RUNAWAY GRANNY

The Runaway Granny was first broadcast on RTE Radio One in Ireland and is a sensitive and humorous family story about a family in crisis.

Natasha’s granny is a very lively woman. She loves playing darts with her local team and she wants to travel and play music in a band. In fact, all granny wants to do is have some fun and adventure.

But Natasha’s mother has a different idea of how a granny should behave. She wants granny to sit by the fire and talk about the good old days while knitting lots of socks!

Then granny disappears and Natasha worries that her family will never be the same again, until one day she gets the chance to visit her granny…


THE TREE HUGGER

First broadcast on RTE Radio One in Ireland – about a girl forced by bullies to make a difficult choice.

Everyone’s scared of school bullies, Susan and Leonie. They decide who’s ‘in’ or ‘out.’

Debbie is just as scared as everyone else because she’s ‘in’ and Debbie wants to stay ‘in.’

New girl, Shalmalah is definitely ‘out.’ She doesn’t do her hair right, or wear the right clothes. Shalmalah is different – she doesn’t care what the bullies think but Susan and Leonie do their best to make her life hell.

Debbie doesn’t like seeing Shalmalah getting bullied but with Susan and Leonie you’re either with them or against them and Debbie’s going to have to make a very difficult choice.


 

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