Liverpool Reads author David Almond reveals the inspiration behind his children’s book to Laura Davis

IT IS the lot of a teacher’s child to suffer regular homework checks and spelling tests served up with their morning jam on toast or tea-time fish fingers.

Not so for Freya Almond, whose dad quizzed her on bad spellings and poor grammar to help place himself in the mind of a child.

The result is David Almond’s The Savage, a story within a story – a child’s composition interwoven with faultless prose.

Twenty-thousand specially-printed copies of the book, powerfully illustrated by Dave McKean, are being handed out to young people across Merseyside over the next few weeks under the Liverpool Reads programme.

“I was just so pleased when I heard this book had been chosen because it’s just a fantastic, unique scheme,” enthuses Almond in his lilting north-east accent. “And to do it with such energy and such optimism is fantastic.”

Part story, part graphic novel, The Savage tells the story of Blue, below, who is dealing with the pain and frustration caused by his father’s death by writing stories about a wild boy.

As his tales get more elaborate, the savage appears to come to life and Blue recognises himself in its ferocity.

“I think any story is about some kind of clash between darkness and light, optimism and despair,” says Almond, who lives in Northumberland.

“It just seems natural to me that every story should have some dark elements in it.

“I think maybe the questions of life and death are more immediate for children than they are for adults.”