Researching rockpools – with

Researchingrockpools

with Isle of Wight children’s author Peta Rainford

Ever since she was a child, Peta Rainford has been fascinated by rockpools. “While I love spending time on the beaches of the Isle of Wight, like a lot of people, I get upset when I see the amount of plastic washed up by the tide,” she says. “So I decided to write a picture book that combined creatures in a rockpool with the issue of plastic pollution.

Crab, Dab & Blenny is Peta’s second rhyming picture book to weave an important environmental issue into a children’s story. Her first, Jacob

Starke Loves the Dark, isn’t just about a little boy who’s afraid of the dark, but, inspired by the dark skies of the Isle of Wight Biosphere, is also about the harmful effects of light pollution on the natural world.

“Although I have always loved rockpools, I didn’t know the names of all the fish, shellfish and seaweeds I found there, so decided to do some research,” Peta says. “My story isn’t specifically set in St Helens, but I only wanted to include species that could realistically be found there. I discovered there might be seaweeds including peacock’s tail, bladderwrack, oyster thief, gutweed and sugar kelp. Doing the research certainly enriched my vocabulary! “I discovered I might find scorpion fish, pipe fish, butter fish, blenny and dab. I decided to make Blenny and Dab two of my main characters, mainly because I liked the sound of the words, but also because dab rhymes with crab! “My research also looked at the impact of plastic pollution: did you know, for example, that scientists have found that microplastics in the ocean are affecting the ability of hermit crabs to select the best shell to live in? I hope children enjoy Crab, Dab & Blenny and that it inspires them to explore rockpools and do their bit to reduce plastic pollution!”

Win

Style of Wight has two copies of Peta’s new book Crab, Dab & Blenny to give away. Here are Peta’s top tips for anyone entering the Style of Wight children’s writing competition: 1. Write about something you care about: your enthusiasm will shine through. Perhaps, like me, you will be inspired by the natural world of the Isle of Wight Biosphere. 2. Plan your story with a beginning (setting and characters), middle (action and crisis) and end (how the crisis is resolved). I like to have a happy ending! 3. Research: even if you don’t include the facts in your story, knowing them will make your writing more believable. 4. Once you have your plan and research, just write! Don’t expect to write the perfect story straight off, it’s more important to get the whole story down on paper or screen.

5. Then: edit, edit, edit! What can you do to make your story better?

You can enter your story into the Style of Wight children’s writing competition: by post Style of Wight, 8 Salisbury Gardens, Dudley Road, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, PO38 1EJ by email features@styleofwight.co.uk For more information visit www.styleofwight.co.uk

Why not share your family’s rockpool discoveries with us on social media, using the hashtag #crabdabandblenny