Ruth Thomas is a special needs teacher and writer from Lewisham whose debut book, Miss Kelly and the Blasted Berry Battle was recently published.
Have you ever wondered who would win a fight between a beetle and a raspberry? When Miss Kelly’s garden comes to life by magic her berries are found to be very naughty and the battles begin.
And the author wants to do something special for Christmas with her book. Ruth says, ‘Like many thousands of people across South London, I personally experienced food poverty for much of my childhood. After my mother’s early death from cancer, my lovely dad struggled to raise my older brothers and me in perpetual poverty. He was made redundant, our home was repossessed and we spent many years in insecure housing… I know only too well how easy it is to fall into food poverty and I want to do my bit to help others.’