Truro children could have close encounters of the literary kind with tortoises, yetis and dinosaurs, thanks to a visit by children’s author Ian Brown.  

Ian returns to Waterstone’s in Boscawen Street on Wednesday, August 30 from 11am to read from his Albert the Tortoise and Hugg ‘n’ Bugg series of picturebooks.  

The former journalist, TV writer and producer has proved a hit with youngsters on several previous visits to the area, calling at schools in Portreath and Illogan.  

And his books bear several celebrity endorsements thanks to his previous career, with credits on The South Bank Show, This Is Your Life and Top Gear, whose former petrolhead presenter Jeremy Clarkson said: “I like this book. I like tortoises. What’s not to like?” 

Ian first visited Cornwall when his first Albert book caught the eye of a tortoise-loving teacher at a primary school in Portreath. “She had two tortoises of her own, and had taken them into school, so when the book came out she encouraged the children to read it and write little reviews,” he recalls with pride.  

Having made contact via Facebook, the teacher persuaded Ian to head west and visit a few schools; he also built in a trip to Waterstones which, to his delight, had stocked the book and asked him to sign a few copies. His 2023 trip to the high street book retailer will be his fifth.  

“I do quite well in Truro,” he says. “I’ve been for each new book, and kind of launch it there, reading stories and talking about the real Albert, as well as handing out stickers and colouring sheets.  

“I even talk about my TV work, if the grown-ups stick around. I always get a warm response, and it’s quite a thrill to meet your audience.”  

To drum up business, Ian tours Boscawen Street with an enormous inflatable dinosaur – a reference to Albert Supersize, in which the hibernating tortoise dreams big – which invariably attracts the attention of all the children for miles around.  

All Albert stories are based on the antics of the real Albert, who is over 80 years old and was rescued more than half a century ago by Ian’s wife Millie when she was a little girl. Today, via his pages on Facebook, X (Twitter) and TikTok, Albert has a global following from the USA to Australia via Japan.  

Ian’s Eureka moment came around five years ago. “I found him upside down, and as I was turning the right way up, boom! I could see the whole of the first story in my head. I had been working with the illustrator Eoin Clarke, and contacted him to see if he could help.”  

That book became Albert Upside Down, in which Albert’s garden friends team up to help him back on his feet. It was followed by Albert and the Wind, Albert Supersize, Albert in the Air, and Albert and the Pond – all for readers aged three to seven. Now there’s a wipe-clean board book for first readers: Albert and His Friends. 

“They say write about what you know, and there’s a grain of truth in all these stories,” says Ian. “We know tortoises dream when they hibernate. Albert’s food blows away on windy days, and we do have a garden pond. 

“Albert used to dig his way under the fence and out of the garden – fortunately, all the neighbours knew him and brought him back.” 

Ian and Eoin have also collaborated on two Hugg ‘n’ Bugg books, about a flea who doesn’t like the cold and a messy abominable snowman.  

Ian’s 35-year media career included journalism roles at the Sunday Express and London Evening Standard, and 20 years writing for big-red-book series This Is Your Life, for which he worked with Harrison Ford and Pierce Brosnan, and even penned a sketch for Homer Simpson for an edition dedicated to Simon Cowell. 

He drew upon his vast list of contacts during lockdown. “The publisher said, do you think you could get some quotes? And of course, all those people were there, at home, with all the time in the world to read my book,” he laughs.  

Those who obliged include funnymen Julian Clary and Paul Whitehouse, Youtube/Strictly star Joe Sugg, Game of Thrones and Vicar of Dibley actor Clive Mantle, Allo Allo and EastEnders actress Vicki Michelle and TV veterans John Craven and Michael Aspel. 

And influencer Lydia Bright posted to her 1.3 million followers on Instagram that Albert Upside Down was her daughter Loretta’s “new favourite” book.  

Of course, Albert seems to be taking all this in his stride. “He has become a bit of a diva but that might just be his age,” laughs Ian.  

It’s all a happy end to a long-held dream of publication for Ian. “I’ve had ideas for books ever since I was a child, and it took me 30 years to get a publishing deal in between TV work,” says Ian, who is now a full-time author. “I took all the feedback on board and just kept trying.  

“It’s a delight to visit bookshops, schools and libraries and share Albert’s world. I just want to encourage children to read books, and wrote their own.” 

• The Albert stories are published by Graffeg. www.AlbertTortoise.com