Lari casts a spell on dyslexic girls with 'lost' tale

IT is a story which has been "lost" for thousands of years but now the legend of mythological Sumerian heroine Inanna has come alive once again - this time to help young dyslexic girls with their reading.

GIRL POWER: Author Lari Don and, right, her new action story for girls; inset, former Eastenders star Kara Tointon. Picture: ESME ALLEN

Leith-based children's author Lari Don was commissioned by Barrington Stoke, who specialise in publishing books for dyslexic readers, to write a story specifically for girls.

At present, most literature designed to help young people with dyslexia is aimed at boys as it was previously thought that they were three times more likely to be dyslexic than girls.

However, new evidence shows girls are just more likely to cope better with dyslexia, meaning their symptoms can go unnoticed for years before they receive specialist tuition.

Ms Don was tasked with writing a book to capture the imaginations of girls who struggle with reading, and she decided to tell the tale of an adventurous mythical heroine, the Sumerian goddess Inanna.

After complaining to an academic friend about the lack of mythological heroines, Ms Don was pointed in the direction of the 5,000-year-old goddess.

She said: "Girls don't just want to read about relationships and girly things - they want adventure too. I was moaning about the lack of decent heroines and an academic friend of mine mentioned Inanna.

"I had the idea of re- telling this story and Barrington Stoke saw the market for an adventurous heroine to capture the imaginations of young girls.

"I don't have a particularly flowery, wordy, complicated sentence style and I'm more interested in telling the story rather than giving long descriptions, so my style lends itself quite well to writing books for dyslexic children.

"It isn't written in a patronising or over-simplistic way. For example, it's not shying away from using complicated words when they're the only words that can be used to describe something.

"What it does do is put up fewer barriers because it's so important that everybody feels that the world of books is open to them."

The book tells the story of Goddess of Love, Inanna, who transforms into a "kick-ass" heroine when she discovers a mountain is poisoning the land and it refuses to bow down to her.

As none of the other gods have the courage to face it, Inanna takes on the battle to defeat it herself.

When Ms Don completed her book, called The Mountain's Blood, specialist editors at Barrington Stoke ensured the language and sentence structures were suited to children who struggle with reading. Her words were then cleverly illustrated to ensure the more difficult parts were backed up by pictures.

The books are also printed on cream paper, instead of white, as it stops the words jumping around the page. Barrington Stoke managing director Mairi Kidd said: "(Former Eastenders actress] Kara Tointon's recent TV programme on her struggle with dyslexia has really highlighted the fact that girls experience reading difficulties too.

"We're delighted that Lari has found us such an inspiring heroine and has brought her to life in such a fun, action-packed adaptation."

Ms Don's previous adaptation for Barrington Stoke, Tam O'Shanter, was introduced by a foreword from racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart, who is president of Dyslexia Scotland.

The Mountain's Blood will be available from January 20. Ms Don will be giving readings from her book at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on January 22 and at Blackwell's Bookshop on South Bridge on February 5.