On November 13, Kids’ Own will launch adventure novel Rebellion in the Village, which is available to buy on our new online bookshop.

Researched, written and illustrated by a team of 11 and 12 year old children in Scoil Ursula  Primary School, Rebellion in the Village is set in Pockseaux in eighteenth century France, just as the Bastille is stormed and the injustices of life for poor people are everywhere to be seen. The story follows the adventures of 14 year old Leon, who is found at the scene of a robbery and flees to the forest. Here he encounters a band of rebels hiding from the law and plotting rebellion…

‘I thoroughly enjoyed reading Rebellion in The Village. It is an astonishing achievement for such young writers, but while they may be young they are certainly not immature. Rebellion is written to a very high standard indeed. The characters are well drawn and sympathetic while the historical detail is both accurate and evocative. The pacing is breathless and draws the reader through the story, desperate to find out what will become of Leon. I know how difficult it is to pull together a story of this length and keep it interesting and vital. Congratulations to all involved and as a reader I implore you all to keep writing.’ – Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series

A twelve chapter novel, the plot, character development, location and historical accuracy is entirely the work of the children.  Their teacher Ms Hoey and writer Mary Branley presented a very simple model of working together.  All decisions were taken collectively by vote, following  focused discussion.  Everyone had a task, from filming, editing, illustrating and researching, in the creation of the novel. And Kids’ Own were there to document the process as we went along.

The challenge of collective working was addressed from the beginning, and continued throughout the workshops. Passion for plotlines and ownership of certain characters, made for heated debates, but it was the actual physical writing and illustrating that yielded genuine agreement. We spent a lot of time sharing in the main group, scene by scene, picture by picture, so the whole team were informed.  Working together like this forged amazing team spirit in the group, as chapter by chapter and image by image the novel took shape, surpassing all expectations.