A FORMER teacher has been inspired to write storybook starring her own grandchildren.

Katharine Brown is now on her sixth book for her grandchildren George, George, Peter, Elspeth, Rowan and Hamish.

Mrs Brown, a retired special needs teacher, decided to write the books as a way of encouraging her grandchildren in imaginative play.

She retired from Moorside Primary School, in Consett, six years ago – around the time her first grandchild was born.

She said: “Three children arrived in one year so I thought it would be nice to do a book for each of them using the children.

“I was trying to make it the sort of thing a child could imagine doing so it encourages creative play.

“They like the idea that they were in the story and I thought it was a bit of fun.”

She added: “Now there are six grandchildren so I’ve done five and am working on one for the youngest.”

As well as choosing her grandchildren as the starring characters, they also feature their favourite toys.

Before becoming a teacher, Mrs Brown, from Washington, trained as an artist and has illustrated the books as well as writing them all in rhyme.