St Mary’s Graduate Publishes Children’s Book

A Primary Education (BA ITT) graduate from St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, has recently published her first children’s fiction book, Don’t Stir the Tea! Inspired by her studies at St Mary’s, which explored the value of books in creating context for primary education lessons, Julia Cutri wrote Don’t Stir the Tea! as a way of engaging with boys in the classroom and encouraging them to read. The short story is based on an eight year old boy with a vivid imagination who, with the help of some dizzy little people, finds out exactly why correct food preparation is so important. The book is for parents and children who take pleasure in cooking at home together and celebrates some of the endearingly traditional English snacks and nibbles that British children will recognise. Julia commented, "I really wanted a resource for food technology lessons so in the end I published my own! I have tried and tested the book in schools, and pupils and teachers have really enjoyed it. I hope many others will too." St Mary’s Senior Lecturers for Design and Technology Dot Jackson and Sally Aston commented, “Julia was an enthusiastic member of the Primary Design and Technology cohort at St Mary’s and engaged fully in the sessions. We are thrilled that the course has clearly influenced her and commend her tenacity to fulfil her ambition to publish a book. We follow her success with interest and hope to see more publications in future!”