Our Story
Hello!
Thank you for visiting our site and looking at our books!
We decided to start writing the Barry series many years ago, seeing a need for an urgent response to the declining environmental conditions. Events in the last few years have accelerated that even more, bringing further importance to teaching the next generation how vital our habitats really are to our every day life.
We both work with children in different capacities. Craig has worked as an Early Years Practitioner for over 15 years, working with nursery and reception aged children developing their skills and learning about the world.
My route to this point has been slightly different. I trained as a theatre director, did an MFA in Theatre Directing at East 15 Acting School, then set up Fusion Theatre Company, where we toured our original children's shows to primary schools across the country.
Our books have an environmentally centred message to encourage social change.
We teamed up with our extremely talented friend, Emma Raven, a fantastic comic book illustrator, who was equally enthusiastic about the work and the message behind it.
Together we have spent the last few years refining our practices and have loved creating the world of Barry the Beetle. We hope that this series will encourage more conversation, education and positive steps towards saving the environment.
We hope you enjoy the book as much as we loved making it.
Lots of love,
Katie, Craig & Emma
xxx
Craig Leither
Author
Craig Leither is a freelance author, living in Essex. Over the last 15 years he has been employed at reputable schools across London, teaching as an Early Years Practitioner. He currently works teaching Reception age children at Aldgate School, in the City of London, where he works closely with SEN children and developing curriculum activities. Craig conceived the idea of Barry while teaching a class on the habitats of mini-beasts, where he came across a stag beetle burrowing through the soil. And so, Barry the Beetle was born!
Katie Merritt
Author
Katie Merritt MFA is a freelance author, theatre director, teacher and LAMDA examiner, living in Essex. She has always been involved and passionate about engaging children with different art forms. Over the last 15 years she has taught and examined LAMDA, currently teaching at St Paul's Girls' School, has created and delivered educational workshops, and has written, directed and toured plays to primary schools across the UK. Bringing Barry to life has been a challenging and equally rewarding project and she hopes that the endeavour will open further conversation and commitment to saving the environment.
Emma Raven
Illustrator
Emma Raven is a freelance illustrator, originally from East London. She now works from her home in Wisbech with three distracting beings of varying species. Over the past four years she has been studying at Middlesex University for an illustration degree, including an art foundation year. Having always been fascinated by visual storytelling, Emma focuses mostly on illustrating books and comics. She also has an interest in civil rights and likes to create colourful characters that are relatable to her audiences.