The highlight of May was, for me, a week of school visits in Malta, supported by the incredible Merlin Library, a bookstore and publisher which has been in the Gruppetta family for generations . Initially my trip was planned to coincide with the Children’s Book Festival, but the Icelandic Volcano put paid to that. Fortunately, Merlin and my publishers, Orion, were able to reschedule all ten school visits and I flew out in mid-May.

To be honest, I’d never previously considered visiting Malta. I would have had difficulty finding it on a map. But after a week at the Le Meridian St Julians I was head over heels in love with it. Everything about the island is wonderful. The food, the people, the turquoise bays. Did I mention the fabulous food? It turned out that Merlin’s Chris and Jo (who in her spare time is a gifted stage and television actress), who uncomplainingly drove me the length and breadth of the island and listened to ten re-tellings of my Samantha the python story, were experts on every hidden gem restaurant in Malta. Over the course of the week, I ate two or three times my own bodyweight in sensationally good food. I can state without fear of contradiction that Vecchia Napoli serves the best pizza I’ve ever eaten, that the Barracuda seafood restaurant’s linguini special matches the view for excellence, and that the Fontanella cafe serves the best chocolate cake on earth.

But back to the real reason I was there. The schools and children of Malta embraced my Animals are Not Rubbish competition with a fervour and enthusiasm I found deeply touching. Fifty schools entered and the winning model, a superb panda, is a work of art. The school won books and a year’s sponsorship of three Born Free Foundation leopards.  A single school I visited had submitted 30 models. There were adorable snow leopards, an exquisite turtle, an extraordinary range of elephants and a Siberian tiger too cute for words.

The best thing about Malta, though, were the surprises. On my first morning there, I visited a beautiful old Catholic school. After I’d finished talking and signing books, I was told that the head sister, Sr Cecilia Casolani, wanted to see me. My heart sank. I was convinced that I had in some way offended someone. My talk is full of irreverent jokes about how I spent my school days staring out of the window, and snake stories. Knees quaking, I followed Chris and Jo up to her office. There I met a nun with the kind of serene, lovely face you imagine exists only in the movies. We sat drinking coffee in front of pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, and she told me about a dog she’d loved in her youth, and a sparrow with a broken wing which she’d saved and kept for seven years. It was, she said, one of the cleverest creatures she ever knew. It was one of those special moments that you know, even as you’re experiencing it, will never leave you.

To cut a long story short, if you fancy an amazing holiday with a side trip to a uniquely wonderful bookstore, visit Malta and the Merlin Library.

Jo, Rachel & Chris, the stars of Merlin Library

Lauren and Malta librarian, Noel, a gifted artist and inspiration to his students

feeding stray cats in Malta

Animals are Not Rubbish Winners Announced

Franklin’s Bumblebees swarming in the shape of a dodo, a model made by the children of the Phil and Jim Art Club at SS Philip and James Primary School, Oxford, was the popular winner of the 2009 Animals are Not Rubbish Competition Group prize.

On a hugely enjoyable night at Waterstone’s Bookshop, Picadilly, London, Ellie Brown won the Individual prize for her stunning cheetah, while Ella Constable was highly commended for her adorable tiger. The Asian Elephant submitted by St Augustine’s Church of England School, Swinton, was highly commended in the Group category. The winning children will receive books, courtesy of Orion Children’s Books, membership of Born Free’s kids’ club, and tickets to a special Born Free event in November (subject to terms & conditions).

The Animals are Not Rubbish prize, supported by Born Free and Orion Children’s Books, has attracted huge interest, with some 5,000 children from across the country entering. The artistry and ingenuity of some of the models has been fantastic. Some of our favourites were the Burmese Mountain tortoise made from a recycled umbrella, an Orangutan made from Sainbury’s carrier bags and a Snow Leopard made by a St Ives school.

“What a great ‘rubbish’ idea,” said actor Martin Clunes, one of the judges. “The standard of entries was so high even I found it hard to judge  such a load of rubbish! The children have done a fantastic job and what a great way to help wildlife.”

Virginia McKenna OBE, founder of the Born Free Foundation and another of our wonderful judges, said: “This incredible exhibition proves many things.  How talented and imaginative children are and how animal ‘sculptures’ can be made from everything and anything.  How can one choose between the mournful orangutan and the friendly panda, the endearing elephant and the striding cheetah?  It was so difficult! The children have created animals to treasure and shown us that everything has a value.  A message we should all remember.”

Next year we’re planning to go global with the competition, so watch this space!

The thing about writing novels about a heroine who has a gift for saving wild animals is that I spend half the time wishing I could write myself into my own story and borrow Martine’s powers!

Wouldn’t it be amazing to lay your hands on a wounded leopard or a buffalo with a fever and have them feel whole again and free from pain? Wouldn’t it be the most incredible feeling in the world if you could open the cage door of a lion – one who has never known the African sun or the feel of warm grass beneath her paws, only concrete or snow – and watch her run free in the wild?

For years it’s been my dream to get kids across the world thinking about saving wildlife. That’s the inspiration both the Animals are Not Rubbish conservation challenge and the Last Leopard Fund, launched last month by my publishers Orion, in association with international wildlife charity Born Free and Waterstone’s Bookshop. Whoever you are, and wherever you are in the world, we’d love you to get involved. Actually we’re begging you to get involved! At least I am.

When I was growing up in Zimbabwe, conservation was an integral part of our school curriculum. At Hartley Junior School, we had a fantastic teacher called Mr Mitchley who drummed into us the rules of the Bush: Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. All our school projects revolved around conservation. We did projects on soil erosion, water conservation, and how to save plants and wildlife. My dream is to get kids around the world doing the same thing. I believe that a child who loves animals and nature today becomes an adult who takes action tomorrow.

In 2009, the Animals are Not Rubbish challenge, which aims to get kids across the UK making models of endangered animals out of recycled rubbish, is open to all kids in the UK and Ireland. We’re very honored because the models are going to be judged by a panel of celebrities, including Virginia McKenna, who starred in the movie, Born Free, and has devoted her life to saving animals through the charity she helped found, Born Free. We’re also going to be helped by the much-loved British actor, Martin Clunes, and Ruth Wilson, who reads the audio books of The White Giraffe and Dolphin Song. You can download entry forms, get teaching resources and find out all about the incredibly cool prizes at: www.AnimalsareNotRubbish.co.uk

Whether or not you live in the UK or Ireland, we’d absolutely love you to help us raise money for the Last Leopard Fund, which we’ve launched in association with wildlife charity Born Free, to help Rescue, Protect and Rehabilitate endangered animals. Hold cake sales, have sponsored trampoline jumps, or consider having an Animal Day at your school, where your whole class or everyone in your school dresses as an animal. You can read all about the Last Leopard Fund in the post below this one, or you can simply click here to donate. Get involved!

Click here to donate to: www.lastleopardfund.com