When Cirque Du Freak was first published in the UK, my publishers were very worried that lots of teachers and librarians would rise up in a furious wave to condemn it -- although Goosebumps and Point Horror were doing very well, there hadn't been a horror book quite this dark released for children before, and they weren't sure what the response would be like. (That's one of the main reasons the book was originally turned down by pretty much every British publisher!) They braced themselves for the backlash... but it never came. Nor did it come in the USA or any of the other 40 or so countries where it was released over the coming years, or the dozens more where the English language books were imported. Sure, there was the occasional complaint from a parent, and very occasionally a teacher or librarian would choose not to stock the book in repsonse to those complaints, but honestly, we're talking tiny numbers here. The vast, vast majority of teachers and librarians (and even parents) realised from very early on that there was something special about the book... that it could hook in a classroom audience and reach kids who normally wouldn't read... and also, as dark as it was, it was also a very positive, inspiring book.

In the twenty-plus years since then, Cirque Du Freak has been a standard text in huge numbers of schools across the world, and still continues to be taught in classrooms all around the globe. It even made the national curriculum in some countries!! Not bad for a "bad boy" book that almost never made it out of the starting blocks!!! :-)

I'm always extra-impressed by teachers and librarians who find inventive ways to deal with the book, to incorporate it into the school curriculum and do more with it than just read it out to their students. (Though there's absolutely nothing wrong with that either! I'm a big advocate of the need to let kids know that reading can be fun, and think every group should have at least a few periods every week where they're encouraged to simply read for enjoyment.) And here are four such recent examples.

The first come to us courtesy of Rang Cuchulainn (that means Cuchulainn's Class -- Cuchulainn was a mythical Irish warrior, a bit like King Arthur) in Colaiste Bride in Ireland. Here, the students were challenged to invent flyers for the Cirque Du Freak, and I think you'll all agree that they came up with some real crackers!!

The second hails from Alloa Academy in Scotland, where pupils were asked to write book reports for my short novel, Koyasan. But... only one 5 star review out of four?!? I demand a recount!!!!!! :-) :-) :-)

The third and fourth are book reports written by students in Thorp Academy LRC in England, for a DEAR -- Drop Everything And Read -- lesson.

If YOU are a teacher or librarian in any of the above schools -- or, indeed, any other schools, anywhere in the world (or if you're a student who wants to show this to your teacher or librarian), and are interested in contacting me to enquire about the possibility of arranging an online event to even further inspire (or terrorise!) your students, please feel free to reach out and drop me a line using this email address: [email protected]

I don't charge for online events, and I'm happy to talk about any of my books. I don't say YES to every request, but if you're well organised and can put together a large group of students (either in your own school, or by including others in your area) then you've got a good chance of getting a thumbs up!!!