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Success with a capital Yuk! When Nick Arnold was a schoolboy he was
fascinated by the ‘yucky’ bits of education so he can’t believe his luck
now he is making a living out of exploring the heights and depths of
Horrible Science. But the author of well
over 30 books in the best-selling series says he didn’t know that
science was going to be his gateway to gore. “Basically I was a horrible child and I really liked nothing better than finding out unwholesome facts and writing scary stories,” he confides. “I knew I wanted to write gory stories and at that time I thought I would have to make my living writing stories about history and English as they seemed to be the subjects which had the most gore in them. But then I realised that actually science has lots of stories in it – and that they can be really horrible!” Nick was working at the University of North
London on a project teaching children about nature when he hit upon his
master stroke. “It was actually a lucky break or a well-placed
letter – whichever you want to believe,” he says. “Because I wrote this
really cheeky letter to the publishers Scholastic saying that if they
were looking for someone to write a horrible science book I was the one. “And would you believe they actually let me write
a science book and put lots of horrible bits in it – and then it was
hugely successful.” So successful in fact that the Horrible Science
series has been read by millions of children (and quite a few adults)
worldwide. It has also been seen by thousands across the UK as it has
been adapted by Birmingham Stage Company into a theatre production.
Created in 2010, this year it heads out on tour again, travelling across
the country between September and December. Nick says it is hard not to be drawn into
Horrible Science.
“The thing is that science is everything. It is
all around us. We live it every day. When I was at school we were taught
that science was this subject or that subject – biology or chemistry –
but everything we do is about science. And a lot of it is actually very
easy to grasp.” Nick was initially contracted to write two books
for Scholastic but has kept going ever since, taking in subjects as
diverse as the human body, flight, electricity, insects, medicine,
light, space and animal behaviour. “I can’t actually tell you how many books I have
written now,” he says. “It is definitely more than 30 but the thing is
that we are constantly bringing out new editions or updating things
because science changes all the time. So there are probably about 60
different editions in all. “But I can’t see that I will ever run out of
subjects because I am constantly coming up with ideas. Science is really
about being alive – and until such time as this life is suspended those
ideas will keep coming. “There are lots more books I want to write. I
would like to do another one looking at human evolution, then robots as
they are really interesting, then space because so much is changing so
quickly there. I would also like to write about atoms because that field
is moving so fast and children will really need to know more about it. “My approach to a subject is to vastly
over-research it. I have become quite good at science by writing these
books so have got quite a lot of knowledge already but then I really
like finding out more information. If I over-research then I don’t just
have all the facts I need, I have a lot more – and that means I can
really choose what I want to include. “The thing about a Horrible Science book is that
actually it is all about imagination. The more you know the more you
want to know and the more you want to develop that.” Which is one of the reasons that Nick believes
the stage show has been so popular. Created by Birmingham Stage Company,
who have also adapted a series of Horrible Histories theatre
productions, it tells the story of Billy Miller who enters the mad theme
park world of Horrible Science. With time against him, Billy has to
battle lots of hideous facts and factors to ensure life can go on. “First of all the stage show is about
entertainment,” says Nick. “It is like going to the cinema only better.
Who doesn’t like watching a good film? And when that film is live and
has got lots of great bits in that is an added bonus. “On top of that it uses 3D and I can put my hand
on my heart and say it is much better 3D than you see in the cinema.
Some of the effects are mind-boggling.
“And finally it is education. Parents can take
their children knowing they will enjoy it and learn something – and I
mean the parents as well as the children! “What is really clever about the production is
that it is actually a story on a very fundamental level. It was written
by people who really understand how a play works and they made sure the
script wasn’t too technical so it wouldn’t go out of date and doesn’t
need constant updates.” Despite aiming to cater for a market of
youngsters aged between 6 and 14, Nick knows his books are frequently
read by people of all ages.
“I know that teachers read them because they tell
me,” he says. “They want to know what their students are reading! And
the books have helped many teachers because they have helped people to
realise that science is exciting. And that it is full of things which
will really fire the imagination. “Children love things that are horrible – it
interests them. The aim of these books has never been to make children
sick or give them nightmares. What I want is for a child to go ‘yuk’ and
to be so interested in what has made them go ‘yuk’ that they want to go
out and tell their friends and their parents about it. “And what we have done from the start is try to
make them accessible for children of all reading levels. Every child is
different and while some will want to read the book cover to cover, for
others there are other ways in. So it may be that a child who has not
developed so much as a reader may start by looking at the cartoons or
having a go at some of the experiments. And then hopefully that will
draw them in to read a bit and then a bit more. “It is brilliant if a book like that can really
fire a child’s imagination so they want to read it and then go on to
read more.” The books have also opened up new avenues for
Nick. One of his latest ventures has been the design of the Horrible
Science of Submarines Exhibition at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum at
Gosport near Portsmouth. “I did that together with Tony de Saulles, who
illustrates Horrible Science,” he says. “We really enjoyed it and it was
a really rewarding experience to go to the exhibition and see how much
our hard work had paid off and how popular it was. It was a bit like the
stage show really in that it needed to appeal to children and adults.
You know that it will be parents who are taking their children to these
exhibitions and they need to be interested too. You can’t just appeal to
the children.” With Horrible Science now global, Nick has
developed a new hobby – looking for his books all over the world. “It’s not just airports where I look for the
books,” he admits. “It is really good to see them in shops wherever you
go. I have always been interested in book shops abroad but now I can
look for Horrible Science books as well! “Horrible Science has been translated into 40
different languages and is a worldwide phenomenon. It is a best-selling
series in South Korea. And I have just written a new book all about
climate change just for China. “It is great that something good which is
produced in Britain has been so successful in so many other places. It
means people all over the world can enjoy Horrible Science. So if the
books can travel, then why not the show? It would be great to see the
stage show become a worldwide phenomenon too. Who knows – next step
Broadway?”
*Horrible Science hits the stage at Birmingham Town Hall on December 3-7. For tickets contact 0121 345 0603 and www.thsh.co.uk. For more information see www.birminghamstage.com |
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When
I saw it there were children and adults who were clearly enjoying it.