Author & Artist
REVIEWS FOR
HARRY JOINS THE CIRCUS
"In Harry Also’s new journey, the beauty of nature and its enchanting landscapes unfold in a story brimming with heart and adventure. Written in a whimsical style, Harry’s tale is a heart-warming and engaging read for all ages, highlighting challenges, determination and resilience when he joins
the circus.
The author’s voice shaped by international influence and lived experience sings throughout. Between the lines sensitive topics are broached with humour, while subtle hints of romance flutter on the breeze. Echoes of a yearning to belong and a pining for self-expression will reverberate in the minds of the readers."
David G Pullar author ‘Wee Bessie’, storyteller at Heart of The Travellers.
"I have just finished a thrilling read about Harry joining the Circus.
You do know how to pull your readers into a fantastic and charming world.
I love your descriptions of the landscape, of characters, of clothing and of course of all the adventures they experience. I especially liked your wonderful illustrations!
So let’s hope that many parents will get your books as Christmas presents for their children and not only give but also read the books with them."
Monika Fuhrer, English teacher.
"This is the final instalment of the Harry Also series - I loved them all. Celia writes so beautifully about nature and what it means to connect with the world we live in and with one another. She writes with a poet's eye, and the wisdom of Harry's eye is a tonic for all of us. This is a book about looking past the trappings of our modern lives to find the place where true happiness lives."
Devika Ponnambalam author of 'I am Not Your Eve' shortlisted for Saltire Prize 2022, Sir Walter Scott prize 2023, UNESCO writer in residence Edinburgh 2024
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WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
Harry's Holiday
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"A charming fantasy adventure featuring a host of characters getting involved in events happy, scary, wondrous and exciting."
Nigel Gatherer &
June McEwan
Crieff Community Arts
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"Harry’s Holiday. What a lovely story which would be appealing to both children and adults. There is an excellent mix of interesting characters, all with different personalities but who share a real sense of camaraderie as they all look out for each other and teach each other different ways of thinking. I love all the characters but my particular favourites are Lara, Hilary and of course, Harry. The imagery throughout the book is wonderful, giving you a real sense of “being at sea” and the topography is very descriptive. The book nears its end in a dramatic and exciting way but all ends well. This is a trip that Harry will always remember and treasure although he is happy to get home to the pink house and garden and be reunited with his friends. However, he will always remember the new friends he met on his holiday. This book made me smile."
Fiona Meyrick
Poet/Writer
(Cream Cracked Colours)
​On World Book Day 2024 I would like to sing the praises of this wonderful local author's work; The Tales of Harry Also and, fresh of the press, Harry's Holiday, by Celia Norman Smith. Written for children as well as adults, Celia is a most gifted traditional story teller, weaving magic and realism seamlessly, using metaphors to illustrate the challenges we can all face through life. Taking us on a journey with Harry Also, the most charming of scarecrows, she highlights the value of friendships, nature, the seasons and our own courage and self worth in overcoming the harder aspects of life, to be stronger, wiser, lighter. Her books are full of wisdom, kindness, and observations, familiar and fresh. The first of the trilogy is set in the nearby Campsie Fells, whilst the second book sees Harry heading to our very own Angus coast on his holidays, what fun one little scarecrow can get up to! We have several signed copies of each in stock, classics in the making"
Ailsa van Rooyen
Ecologist/Owner
Sillyflatt Fare, Inverbervie
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"I love them. You make them so descriptive with such simplicity and make just the right amount of space speak."
The Woodcut illustrations
LORNA BAXTER,
SCOTTISH ARTIST
The Tales of Harry Also
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"Celia Norman Smith takes us into a realm where many have never ventured, a world most of us take for granted. With an intimacy found only through personal experience, Celia weaves a tapestry through farms and woodlands, of natural cycles of growth and decay, of simpler pleasures and the value of friendship."
WYBO VANDERSCHUIT
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"...beautiful language and atmosphere. It draws a lovely picture and the reality of the description of ‘nature’ (for want of a better word!) / the natural world which is so recognisable to those of us familiar with it and nicely illustrative for those who aren’t, and the characters are superimposed in a way which I think young readers will enjoy."
JO RIPLEY
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"Congratulations to you on writing such a powerful and heart-warming tale!
It is so multi-layered and for ALL ages. Educational and deep. I found it very moving in many places. It will stay with me.
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I feel that I have learned so much about the natural world through your eyes (and obviously your experience);it is lovely the way the book is structured around the four seasons and how it comes full circle
'Spring is an impression of immortality'.
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I felt the absolute love in your writing shine through for the characters and nature as a whole; the detailed descriptions of the flowers, trees, birds, bees and animals; in the spiritual dimension of life through the descriptions of the fairy world. Fairy dust and fairy magic and fairy lights - beautiful!
The characters are all so lovingly woven around one another. Many powerful moments from the birth of a lamb to the attack on Peawee. I thought it very clever how this episode became a metaphor for the taking away of the innocence of a child.
Lots of beautiful passages and writing. And again, the emotion shines through, which is key always. Also, lots of humour there in amongst the darkness. This line from the White Hart stag, encapsulates the story for me,
'Come out of your darkness and let your light shine'.
Beautiful illustrations too. Adds to the uniqueness of the book."
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DEVIKA PONNAMBALAM
author of 'I AM NOT YOUR EVE' shortlisted for The Sir Walter Scott prize 2023
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"Looking for a local Scottish Author and illustrator for P6/P7 visit then I highly recommend you get in touch with Celia Norman Smith - Author/illustrator hailing from Lunan Arbroath! Perfect for anytime of the year but if you’re looking ahead to around World Book Day/Week in March then I’d advise you get in touch quickly. Spring would be a perfect time for a visit linked to her wonderful books that connect to the land.
I was fortunate to meet Celia at Angus Bookfest this weekend and I can say first hand that she is one of the most genuinely warm and amazing human beings I have ever met. Celia’s illustration approach - carving the illustrations into real wood honours her strong connection and roots to nature. In all the stories I’ve picked up and read over the years, I’ve never before seen such a creative and unique technique. Celia brings lots of illustrations and the original woodblocks to share with the pupils as well as her down to earth nature where she connects to both children and adults.
Perfect for an Upper Stage Class novel with loads of scope for linked learning.
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(I have no affiliation other than having had the pleasure to spend some time with Celia and hear her incredible journey and some of her wonderful stories.)
Celia Norman Smith is an absolute hidden gem
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​ PAULA ROBERTSON
teacher/ author BearingUp
The Series
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"Each book of the Harry Also can be read as a stand alone. And each
can be read on two levels, depending on the age of the young person. An older
child might see beyond these adventurous, delightful tales into the lures and
pitfalls of the adult world.
Whatever the level, like all good children’s literature, there is a take away.
In the case of Harry Also, the main protagonist a scarecrow and his friends
choose to leave their comfort zone and ultimately reaping the rewards that
choice brings.
These engaging stories are packed with imaginative, loveable (and not so
loveable) characters from the human, animal, fairy and inanimate world, with
such names as Billy the Bat from Ballat and Button Box the Crow.
This motley band leave the Pink Cottage and traverse the Lowlands of
Scotland in a Buchanesque romp, encountering on their travels an Elemental
Circus and the dystopian Droigs. We grow along with them, learning their
folklore and country ways until they come almost full circle, not quite back to
where they started, but spiral like, to a higher, wiser level."
JACKIE FERRARI
"Harry Also is a fine chap from his beautiful purple boots, to his earthy legs of hessian, to his dandy spotted scarf with large polka dots, to the top-most apple-pie bonnet on his straw curls. His large blue button eyes are all seeing onto his patch of ground, because he has a job to do for a much bigger picture."
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THE SERIES...
Download your FREE colouring sheet*
*Copyright Annie Minnaar & Celia Norman Smith, not to be shared or used for profit.
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ABOUT CELIA
Celia is a Sussex lass leaving Brighton Art College with a BA Hons. Art and Design in 1979. After a year in New Zealand working the ‘High Country’ at Mount Cook Station she returned to the UK and retrained at Plumpton Agriculture College, Sussex gaining a City and Guilds Diploma in Shepherding and Grass Management. Living off the land with her late husband (writer, editor and publisher), two daughters and a menagerie of animals for over 30 years has been her life.
photo by David G Pullar
​Writing, and drawing have always been a passionate part of her life with the natural environments heavily influencing her work. Most of the stories in HA have happened through her time travelling as a shepherd, beekeeper, mole-catcher, or living at a Riding for Disabled centre working with horses. Celia appeared as the beekeeper in the short film ‘Honey’ by Glasgow based artist Belinda Scott Gilbert showing the joys of beekeeping. She loves wild gardening, wild swimming and being a tad wild!
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