Featured Author

Beverly Clarke

Candy Jar is pleased to announce the release of The Digital Adventures of Ava and Chip: Smart City, a children’s book focusing on technology. Published through Candy Jar’s award-winning partner imprint Jelly Bean Books, this book takes the reader on a visit to the fictional Smart City of Digita. The book shows how a smart city is driven by data and how this data is used in many ways. It encourages the reader to consider their own lives, to discover what data is collected about them, as well as understand how technology is impacting upon our lives in an easy-to-understand way.

Written by national leader in computing education and former secondary school teacher, Beverly Clarke, this is her second published book and her first aimed at children. Beverly believes that a lack of access and understanding of the digital world can affect social mobility and hopes that her story will redress the balance. She says: “In Smart City I based the characters upon me and my children – a black mother and her two mixed race children. My inspiration for the character names comes from modern culture. For instance, Ava is the name of the robot in the tech film Ex-Machina, and Chip from the term “computer/microchip”. Luckily, the names Ava and Chip are amongst some of the current most popular children’s names.”

Beverly has attempted to address a gap in the market for relatable tech-based books for children, as well as the lack of picture-based tech books featuring diverse characters.

Beverly continues: “As a child I enjoyed adventure stories such as The Adventures of Tintin and devoured the entire Nancy Drew series. It would be great if children could relate to Ava and Chip it much same way. The books are designed to be educational, to encourage the reader to observe the world around them and to ask questions. They can be used by readers on their own, by a parent and child, or within a classroom setting.”

Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, was really excited when Beverly sent him the manuscript. He says: “With the fourth industrial revolution underway, it is important that children understand how technology is shaping all our lives. As we leave lockdowns behind, we need to invest in innovation, both in technology and educational teaching. Beverly is certainly well-placed to inspire children to be future, scientists, architects and designers.”

The Digital Adventures of Ava and Chip: Smart City is available in the following formats and through the outlets below: · Paperback or Kindle - Amazon · Paperback - direct from - https://www.avachipbooks.com

Follow the series on social media @avachipbooks – Instagram or Twitter For more information, or to arrange an interview with the editor, author, cover artist and/or license holder, please contact Shaun Russell at [email protected] or 02921 157202