Story becomes a fairytale

Author Richard Knight pictured with Coppice pupils, from left, Hassan Akhtar, Yaqub Ahmed, Ambreen Hussain and Safreen Akhtar

An Oldham teacher has become a children’s author after creating bed time stories for his son and daughter.

And now Richard Knight’s first novel “Winter Shadow” is being turned into a drama for local schools.

Mr Knight, who has been a teacher at Coppice Primary School since 1996, has written for anthologies before but this is his first children’s book.

Illustrated by Richard Johnson, it tells of a girl who lives with her grandfather in the snowy north and finds a wolf cub in the snow.

Man’s relationship with animals plays a big part in the story and some reviewers have likened it to the children’s classic “Heidi”.

Married with two children, Emily (12) and Callum (15), and living in Greenfield, Mr Knight first got the idea for the story by telling tales at bedtime a few years ago.

Then it took him three years to get it into print.

Mr Knight, who is also employed as an advisory teacher in Rochdale, is also running drama workshops for children in local schools based on the book.

It is available in Waterstone’s and on Amazon, and is published by Barefoot Books at £9.99.

Any school wishing to use the drama workshop can contact him on 01457 875841.