We chatted with Fiona Spence-Arnold all about her debut children’s book Rhamni Finds Her Wings – a wonderful chapter book exploring the world of minibeasts and connecting children with nature.
Rhamni Finds Her Wings is your debut children’s book. Can you tell us a little more about it?
It’s an illustrated chapter book for 8 -10s about a butterfly and moth’s adventure in The National Forest.
When Rhamni, a Brimstone butterfly pupates on Midsummer’s Eve, she finds herself alone, no brothers or sisters to be found. Thinking they’ve gone in search of the elusive Ghost Orchid, she teams up with new-found friend, Max, a timid Mint moth and the pair set off on a perilous adventure following messages on bramble leaves through the forest.
What inspired you to write this story?
When I found out Honey Craft, an independent publishers based in Leicester, were seeking a children’s writer with a connection to The National Forest, I jumped at the opportunity. Living nearby, and with a love of forests and nature, I applied and was excited to win the commission to write a short book for children as part of their MiniBEAST series.
I didn’t know that much about butterflies or moths before starting, but I certainly know more now! The research was fascinating. The characteristics of the insects and their habitats inspired the story and the characters themselves. I was fortunate to be guided by Entomologist, Graham Smith, who was also working on the project. He told us about a group of butterflies who used to be known as the Aristocratic butterflies. These include the Red Admiral and Purple Emperor. It inspired me to imagine a hierarchy in the forest led by the antagonist, Emperor Ethelbert, a Purple emperor butterfly who tries to wield power over all the butterflies and moths.
Graham also told us about the tiny Golden Pygmy moth whose caterpillars eat ‘patterns’ in bramble leaves before they pupate into moths. It inspired me to wonder, what if these caterpillars were trying to send messages through the forest on the leaves? Could they undermine the aristocratic butterflies? What could their messages lead to? It needed to be something scarce and precious. When I read about the rare Ghost Orchid flower, it seemed a perfect fit. Coupled with Rhamni’s worry about her family of Brimstone butterflies, my main character’s quest was set.
Connecting children with nature is hugely important to you and your writing. Do you have any tips for helping children engage with nature?
Reading a book like mine, where the characters are all minibeasts having an adventure can be a great way to encourage empathy for species other than our own, so seek out books that encourage children to think of insects and animals as integral to the eco-system and important characters in their own right. They’re more likely to want to protect them. Research has also found that when we engage with nature in a positive way, we boost our sense of wellbeing and happiness.
Of course, you don’t have to live in the countryside to engage children with nature, especially minibeasts, they’re found everywhere! Keep an eye out under rocks, between paving stones and in quiet places in your house.
In the summer months you’re more likely to see butterflies and moths. You can attract them by growing brightly coloured flowers in gardens or containers. Purple flowers will attract them the most as they see different colour temperatures than we do, including UV, and the colour purple stands out the best for them. Once you’ve found your bugs, you can use books or the internet to identify them. That’s where you start finding out about their characteristics and where the creative ideas can start to take root. Have fun thinking up different situations for them and make them your main characters, that way you really get to see life from their point of view.
In my book, Rhamni and Max follow the messages on bramble leaves. These patterns on leaves are easily spotted during Autumn and winter and would make a great treasure hunt activity with children.
We held the book launch at the Timber Festival in July and we also ran guided butterfly and moth walks, and craft activities for children. The Timber Festival is a great way of engaging children with nature as it’s held in the heart of the National Forest and has brilliant sessions and activities on different aspects of nature aimed at both children and adults.
What is it like working with an illustrator?
It was exciting working with Keith Turner, the wonderful illustrator of Rhamni Finds Her Wings, seeing how he interacted with and interpreted my story and characters. We had several meetings to share ideas, and to ask questions of the Entomologist, about characteristics and behaviours of butterflies and moths. Once I’d shared the first draft of the story with him, he started to develop his ideas about what the characters looked like.
As I redrafted, Keith asked me to think about a key feature or accessory for each character. Running this by my editor, Jess Green, I thought of big stompy boots for the intrepid explorer, Rhamni the Brimstone butterfly and a backpack for sensible Max, the Mint moth. The top hat and monocle for the villain, Emperor Ethelbert, were Keith’s ideas and made me laugh when I saw them in the final illustrations. I didn’t give an accessory to Tig, the Golden Pygmy moth caterpillar, but Keith brilliantly had him painting a ‘Mona Lisa’ with a leaf. Keith uses collage in his illustrations, and he told me if you look closely at the moon in one of the pictures, it’s actually an image of grated cheese!
Do you have any tips on writing for children?
I would say tip No. 1 is read children’s books. Lots and lots of them, then some more! I read books for children of all ages, first as a reader, then as a writer, making notes, studying style, characterisation, use of voice, pacing – everything. When I was first writing for children, I would pick a book and use it as a mentor text, to really hone in on what the author was doing, how they were doing it and how I could learn from it. I’d make copious notes in the book and copy sections out to ‘feel’ and hear how it worked.
Tip no. 2 – write! You won’t get a book written if you don’t sit down and write. I often say to myself, I’ll just make twenty minutes to write, and when I’ve sat down to do that, I invariably write for longer. It’s amazing how quickly a story will emerge.
Tip No. 3 – have fun. Experiment – this is particularly good if you’re stuck with an idea. Try out new forms, styles, tenses, voice. Plus, if you’re enjoying writing your reader is more likely to enjoy reading it and when you experiment your ideas will flow.
Lastly, find your writing buddies and hold them close. They get it, they’ll be your readers, your champions, your support and you will be theirs. The more you read each other’s work and give constructive criticism, the more you learn about the craft and what kind of writer you are.
What can we expect from you and your books next?
I’m going to be running workshops in schools with Rhamni Finds Her Wings and I hope I’ll be able to work on another book about a different minibeast with Honey Craft in the not-too-distant future. I’m also working on a historical middle grade mystery adventure that I’m very excited about.
Fiona Spence-Arnold
Fiona Spence-Arnold lives in deepest, darkest Leicestershire with her family and bouncy dog. She writes funny chapter books and exciting adventures for children. When she’s not writing stories, she works on education projects for an award-winning charity and tutors creative writing. Fiona can often be spotted catching story ideas whilst walking in the woods with her dog. She’s thrilled that her debut book, an exciting adventure in the forest, Rhamni Finds her Wings, is published by Honey Craft and is out now.
From 14th October, it will be available to buy from independent bookshop Fox Books, Leicester. It will also be available in the gallery at DeMontfort University and through libraries in The National Forest soon.
Rhamni Finds Her Wings is out now and published by Honey Craft
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