Camden teacher and author uses his new book to support pupils' literacy - Camden Rise

Camden author and teacher Andy Scott has been using his own recently-published book to support children's literacy in his school.

Andy's book, Billy the Brave: The World’s First Superhero, which was published in June, is set in the dinosaur era. The story follows Billy Gondwana’s nail-biting quest to rescue his brother from the Jungle of No Return as he battles some of the most deadly creatures on the planet. 

As well as being an exhilarating adventure story, the book can also be used as a teaching and learning tool. Andy wrote it to include all the vocabulary, grammar and punctuation from the National Curriculum's Year 1 to Year 6 English Grammar Programme of Study.

During the summer term, each class from Reception to Year 6 at Rhyl Community Primary School, where Andy has been a teacher for three years, based their literacy on Billy the Brave: The World’s First Superhero. The children's work included rewrites of part of the story from an alternative perspective and a missing person poster based on the book.

Andy said: "My travels and my job definitely inspire me to write. When I was teaching in Asia, I was lucky enough to lead a five-day school trip where we camped in the rainforest. It was like having your very own living classroom. The experiences the children had, and their sheer excitement and enthusiasm, inspired me to choose a jungle as the setting of my first story. It was a trip that neither the children nor I will ever forget."

• Billy the Brave: The World’s First Superhero is available from Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and all major bookshops.