Grappling with the mysteries of science is an uphill struggle for many youngsters. But Peter Riley's fascinating textbooks are helping to grab their attention. The author spoke to JENNY SCOTT. . .
TV TRASH, the critics screeched, but viewers loved it. And the success of ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here has surprisingly helped to rekindle children's interest in science, thanks to the efforts of a Padiham author.
Peter Riley, 56, a former head of science at Moorhead High School in Accrington, has written more than 150 books.
And his latest series -- Survivors' Science, based on the ITV celebrity show -- has been nominated for a prestigious national award.
Talking to Peter, you immediately realise just why the series appeals to so many children.
"We look at the food they might have to take with them if they were going on an expedition to the rainforest," he said.
"We show children how to filter water with their socks and how to make rope out of celery and look at some of the horrors -- lice and leaches and mosquitos.
"But we also ask questions like why are the rainforests there and why are they hot and wet?"
The Survivors' Science series, which includes books on surviving in the desert, the sea and the polar regions, proved extremely popular with youngsters and the rainforest book was one of six shortlisted for the junior section of the prestigious Aventis Prize for popular science. Peter attended the ceremony at London's Royal Society, where the guest of honour was Sir Robert Winston and other nominees included the eventual senior section winner Bill Bryson.
"It doesn't get any bigger than that," said Peter. "I didn't win, but was great to be there. It's very unusual for somebody who writes textbooks to be nominated for a popular science prize."
It's not the first success in Peter's long writing career, however.
In the past his works have won awards from the Times Educational Supplement and even been presented as prizes on children's show Crackerjack.
Peter, however, never intended to become an author.
"I think if I'd set out to do it, it would never have happened," he said.
"When I first started teaching we didn't have many text books so, like all teachers, I started designing worksheets.
"Eventually a few of my colleagues persuaded me to show this pile of paper to one of the book reps that came out to the school.
"We contacted a publisher and that became my first book."
Published in 1978, Life Science by PD Riley proved an instant success with teachers and pupils. However, it was his second work -- Microworld -- that set him on the road to true stardom, when it was offered as a prize by Stu Francis on Crackerjack.
"Life Science included a chapter on microscopes, which no other books did at that time," he said. "So shortly after it was published I was contacted by Merit Toys, who were doing a microscope set called Microworld and wanted me to write a booklet to go with it.
"These sets really took off and one of them was even offered as a star prize on Crackerjack!"
The success of Microworld proved a turning point for Peter, who began to focus more and more on his writing career.
He would teach all day, get through his marking, and then retire to his study to spend the rest of the evening coming up with ideas for child-friendly science books.
"It was before the National Curriculum came in," he said. "And you didn't have all the paperwork teachers seem to have these days."
For Peter, his writing career as a continuation of his work in the classroom.
"It's like telling a story," he said. "What I try to do is reorganise the facts so people can make sense of them and say, 'I understand that now!'
"Old-style textbooks used to depend on the teacher to present the information in an interesting way, but I try to write in a way that engages young people regardless of whether the teacher's there or not."
Peter's prolific collection of works ranges from classroom guides for teachers and fun activity books for five-year-olds to study aids for bright GCSE students.
Indeed, the range of his work, as well as the accessibility of his writing style, account for the fact that few children can have passed through a decade of science lessons without coming into contact with a Peter Riley book.
His appreciation of childhood curiosity stems from his own life, growing up in Colne, where his interest in nature was sparked by birdwatching trips to the local woods.
After studying zoology at Hull University, he moved into teaching, but his natural inquisitiveness remained.
"I remember walking by the canal when I saw this grass snake and I thought, 'I must take that into school to show the kids,'" he said.
"I managed to pick it up and put it in my wife, Anita's, handbag for safekeeping. Unfortunately grass snakes release this garlic odour, so my wife wasn't best pleased!"
Now retired, Peter continues to make visits to local primary schools, getting children to tiptoe around like a fabrosaurus, or guess how many human babies weigh the same as a baby elephant.
His imagination is boundless -- particularly since he has never travelled to many of the places he describes, such as the rainforest, but instead relies on his local library's supply of Lonely Planet Guides and SAS manuals to inject a sense of reality into his books.
"I'd like to go to the rainforest, but I just can't," he said. "The publishers want these books written in six months. By the time you went off and actually did these things, nobody would want the books any more!"
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