Gaspard the Fox

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The landmarks Zeb and James decided to show are not the usual tourist attractions and give a really authentic feel to the ‘real’ London such as the beloved James Smith & Sons umbrella shop in Bloomsbury and the Pyramid spire with a unicorn statue! The story provides both a visual treat and a historic journey through London’s capital. The programme is only open to schools in Scotland due to licensing. If you teach at a Scottish school but are currently based outside Scotland, you are welcome to register for the programme providing the details of the school at which you teach. Before starting to read the story, look at the cover image together and talk about where this story takes place and what might happen to the fox. Read the story aloud to your child pausing to talk about what is happening in the story or pictures or any unfamiliar words. Join in Radio 4 announcer and author Zeb Soanes based his titular fox on a real urban fox that visits him regularly at his home in London. Gaspard first appeared with an injured leg, and Zeb fed the fox until he recovered … but he had become a regular feature at this point, appearing whenever he heard him return on his bicycle in the evening. Then, one evening, Gaspard revealed that ‘he’ was actually ‘she’ when she brought her cubs to visit him! I don’t like feeling I’m being preached at, so I hope the themes in the Gaspard books are almost homeopathic … just there, running throughout.

Lucy Drever will host two live sessions online in advance of the concert! Expect fun and games, links to the resources, what to expect from the concert and some special RSNO guests. I was saddened to read that there has been ‘a spate of attempts around the world to remove titles depicting gay or transgender characters from library shelves’ (The Guardian, January 2019). Why do you think children’s books that explore the lives of gay and transgender characters and present a variety of relationships are still so important? As with the first two Gaspard adventures, this story centres around a real community event – this time an open-air concert at Hyde Park. Gaspard the fox walks with her friend Finty the dog to the bus stop and when Finty’s owner drops her scarf, Gaspard instinctively catches it and hops on board to return the lost garment. Thus he ends up on the number 38 travelling through central London, admiring the sights and disembarking at Hyde Park for the climatic concert. Unfortunately, the programme is only open to schools. We would encourage you to share the programme with your child’s teacher/school and ask them to consider registering.

Allowing children to develop skills and techniques that are relevant to specific art forms and across the four expressive arts capacities.

Ensuring that pupils can benefit from the positive holistic impact on learning and engagement that musical education can bring. It’s a story about friendship and being accepted for who you are. Gaspard makes two new friends: Peter the Cat, who has cultivated his own unique identity and a dog named Finty that, instead of chasing Gaspard away (as you’d expect), thinks it’s brilliant to have a fox as her friend. Not everyone thinks Foxes are welcome in the city, so there are kind and unkind humans in the book and I hope children will see how wonderful and exciting it is to share the urban environment with all living creatures. Gaspard is undoubtedly a handsome fox, in life as in the story but there is a prominent tear through one ear. Gaspard isn’t perfect and that’s an important message too. What is it like seeing your story illustrated with such beautiful, warm artwork by James Mayhew? What was your working relationship like? What do you think James’s illustrations add to the story?Without giving too much away, can you tell us a bit more about Gaspard the Fox and what inspired this story? This title provides a model for the teaching of literacy, art and music – now that is the kind of 3 for the price of 1 we all want on our bookshelves! A super next read for fans of The Queen’s Hatby Steve Antony (which was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra) and the perfect bridging text to Peter and the Wolf. At a time when staycations and outdoor performance are gaining enormous popularity, this is a timely tale to encourage children to enjoy the arts in any way available to them. So join with us and ‘civilise’ the next generation by immersing them in the words, art and music of this incredible picture book that will inspire a lifelong love of culture in all its many facets. Charlotte’s Web comes instantly to mind from my childhood reading; where a spider saves a pig from being killed by weaving inspirational messages into her web above the pig-sty. It’s a beautiful story. The National Schools Concert Programme is developed in line with the Curriculum for Excellence and aims to benefit pupils and teachers by: A real little fox started visiting me in my London street almost every day. It was the most handsome fox I had ever seen. It even knew the sound of my bicycle and would often appear silently next to me as I folded it up. I posted photos of the fox online and it gathered thousands of followers all over the word. Friends suggested I write a story about its adventures and, one day, on a long train journey, I started writing Gaspard the Fox. Buy the book here

individual lessons with accompanying short videos, written and presented by Lucy Drever, and focusing on various aspects of the programme. Teacher CPD Session: Wednesday 24March 4-5.30pm Nobody is born into this world with racist, ageist or homophobic beliefs, we learn them, so children’s books are the perfect place to instil early messages of kindness and humanity. “ This session is repeated – you do not need to attend both.) Gaspard’s Foxtrot in Concert release: Monday 10May Do you think Gaspard and his friends will return in a sequel? Do you think your childhood tortoise, Fred, might make an appearance? Is the programme also appropriate for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)?I have been a huge devotee of James Mayhew’s books for children for a while now – his Katieseries and Koshka’s Tales, for example, have delighted the children I have shared them with. James’ art style is infused with warmth, love and light and during these times, when we feel rather deprived of comfort, I can think of nothing better than to immerse myself in his welcoming illustrations. There is something infinitely reassuring about his pictures – they manage to capture characters and life at its best, while retaining their unique quality. For me, he is one of the best illustrators we have nowadays. Gaspard remains a ‘he’ in the series of books, and in the first one, we follow in Gaspard as he embarks on his first adventure, meeting neighbourhood cat Peter (aka Fluffy – to his horror) and Finty, the feisty escapee dog, on her way. He discovers the delights of leftovers from a festival on the canal, and glows in the friendship offered by other local animals who, contrary to popular belief, don’t really seem to mind foxes all that much. It is easy to see why, in James Mayhew’s sensitive and delightful illustrations, which capture Gaspard’s unique personality so well. Who could not fall in love with such a beautiful fox?

Enhancing and enriching children’s learning through partnerships with professional arts companies, creative adults, and cultural organisations. James makes all his illustrations with traditional tools, mainly using pen and ink, and watercolours. He created his own new shade of ink especially for teh Gaspard the Fox books, which he calls ‘Gaspard Red’. Join us for Gaspard's Foxtrot - the RSNO's 2022 National Schools Concert Programme - featuring free concerts across Scotland, a special concert film, teaching resources, and more! As your child becomes familiar with the story they may like to join in as you read for example with the sound effects and some of the conversations. Talk about the story With a variety of in-person and digital opportunities for young learners, primary and secondary schools, and teachers, this year’s activity builds on last year’s successful National Schools Concert Programme, ensuring that everyone can take part.Book Two will be published in August and I’m already working on a third. Fred is yet to make an appearance, but you’ve just given me an idea 😉 I have been a huge devotee of James Mayhew’s books for children for a while now – his Katie series and Koshka’s Tales, for example, have delighted the children I have shared them with. James’ art style is infused with warmth, love and light and during these times, when we feel rather deprived of comfort, I can think of nothing better than to immerse myself in his welcoming illustrations. There is something infinitely reassuring about his pictures – they manage to capture characters and life at its best, while retaining their unique quality. For me, he is one of the best illustrators we have nowadays. Everything I write for the BBC is written to be read aloud on the radio and so, quite unconsciously, I think I selected words for this book that are pleasurable to say and many adults have said how much they enjoy reading it to children. It is perhaps a bit challenging in places for a very young child to read for themselves; Peter the Cat, for example, uses quite sophisticated language – but I think that is a good thing and I’m grateful to my wonderful publisher, Graffeg, for allowing me ‘Lepidoptery’! I learned a lot of vocabulary reading for myself when I was younger. You feel empowered as a child with exactly the right word for something.