Great grandmother's first book goes on sale (From Streatham Guardian)

Streatham great grandmother's first book goes on sale

3:56pm Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News By Alice Foster, Reporter

A great grandmother with dyslexia has published her first children’s book at the age of 73.

Eileen Drew, who has lived in Streatham for more than 30 years, had difficulty reading so made up bedtime stories for her grandchildren.

Some of these stories were later written down to become ‘The Lesser Spotted Dragon,’ which was published this month.

Ms Drew said: "It’s brilliant especially if you are dyslexic and my age. It’s taken a long time."

She said her grandchild, Alex, now 18, encouraged her to write down her bedtime stories while she was babysitting his younger sister, Alannah, about four years ago.

She said: "It’s all because of my grandchildren."

Lesser is a friendly West Country dragon that befriends a boy named James and through their friendship James learns facts about ancient Britain.

Ms Drew, born in Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea, is already working on more books to come in the series including 'Lesser Buys a New Home.'

She had an unsettled childhood moving between children’s homes and school at a time when dyslexia was not a recognized condition.

She now has 27 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

A percentage of royalties from the ‘Lesser’ series of books will go to the charity Children in Need.