For the past two weeks we've been following the most colourful bus on the road as it travelled down the Wild Atlantic Way with Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde and friends. The Whole Wild World Tour brought the joy of readinng all along the west coast!
During this cultural roadshow there have been lots of miles and plenty of smiles as the bus made over 40 stops across 9 counties, meeting children and communities in schools, libraries, and bookshops on the west coast.
The Whole Wild World tour has been a huge success and while we're sad to see it come to an end, we’re very excited to see what the Laureate na nÓg and Children’s Books Ireland team have planned next...
We last met the group of authors and illustrators in Galway and since then, the bus has zoomed on through County Clare, Limerick, and Kerry before ending the tour at Kinsale Library in County Cork on Sunday, 28 April.
After launching the tour at Ireland’s most northerly point in Donegal over two weeks ago, the bus triumphantly pulled into Mizen Head - Ireland’s most south-westerly point on Friday, 26 April to mark the milestone.
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If you missed the bus (see what we did there?), you can learn all about the Whole Wild World tour with RTÉ. It was featured on RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime thanks to John Cooke - you can listen above.
And it was on TV too - with a speial story from RTÉ One's Nationwide show where they got to chat the organisers and get to see some of the fun for themselves.
You can stream it here on RTÉ Player!
Remember you can recreate the magic of the Whole Wild World tour at home with Children's Books Ireland brilliant resource pack - download it here!
You can look back on week one here and keep reading to see how it all went on the second part of the journey.
Week 2
Following a day of sunshine in Patricia's native Galway, the Whole Wild World tour had four more counties to tick off their travel itinerary last week. The group travelled to Ennistymon in Co, Clare via the Cliffs of Moher on Monday, 22 April and had a full day of entertaining events in conjunction with Banner Books, Ennistymon Library and Scoil Mhainchín. The bus was full of creatives, including Dave Rudden, Paddy Donnelly, Shane Hegarty, Méabh McDonnell and Tristan Rosenstock.
On Tuesday, 23 April, University of Limerick was the focal point for a variety of events like an illustration masterclass with PJ Lynch and school events at the Irish World Academy. After Limerick, all roads lead to County Kerry. From Wednesday 24th April the team explored Tralee, Kilorglin, Glenbeigh, Cahersiveen and Kenmare and they even had a visit from the Ireland AM crew while at Aghatubrid National School too!
On Friday, 26 April, the bus reached the final county of the tour, County Cork and welcomed Eve McDonnell, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Alan Nolan, Mary Murphy, Bridget Bhreathnach and Clara Kumagai on board.
While in Cork, the Whole Wild World tour was welcomed by Bantry Library, Schull Community College and of course, there was some signing and book buying in Skibberreen Bookshop. On Saturday, 27 the bus stayed ashore, while the Whole Wild World group boarded a boat to Sherkin Island to host an interactive storytelling and illustration community event with the islanders and neighbouring residents from Oileán Chléire/Cape Clear.
Finally, on Sunday, 28 April, the two-week cultural roadshow came to an end, at Ireland’s newest library in the heart of Kinsale.
What an amazing journey of storytelling and sightseeing this has been for the Laureate na nÓg, the Children’s Books Ireland team and the authors and illustrators who joined in on the fun along the way!
Don't forget to check out the RTÉjr Book Club every month for more recommended reads with thanks to our friends at Children's Books Ireland.
