How Essex Frogs and Childhood Memories Spawned a Bestselling Author's Tales!

Kes Gray is a well-known children's author whose books have sold over three million copies. He is famous for writing 'Oi Frog! ' with illustrator Jim Field, as well as the Daisy series. Recently, Kes Gray discovered just how much his childhood in Essex influenced his writing when he prepared for a new exhibition about his work at Chelmsford Museum. While searching through his cupboards for items to display, he found many objects and memories that reminded him of growing up in Essex. He said, 'I started to write down all of the little memory triggers that I could find, and there were loads of them - there were loads of more than I ever realised. '

One of Kes Gray's favorite childhood memories was a trip to Baddow Recreation ground with his friend Tim. They collected a bucket full of frogspawn, which later inspired a character in his books. Kes explained, 'I'm a big fan of tadpoles, and I came up with a character called Badpole who was a grumpy tadpole because he'd been taken from the pond he was living in by a boy, like me, with a bucket, like me, taken home and put in a shed. ' He joked that every frog found on Moulsham Lodge Estate today might be a descendant of the frogspawn he and Tim moved from Baddow Rec.

Kes Gray now lives in Colchester, but his ties to Chelmsford remain strong. Last summer, he visited the Museum of Chelmsford for the first time in fifty years and realized how much the city meant to him. He noticed that the museum had exhibitions about Essex writers and thought, 'Well, I'm an Essex writer. ' He reached out to the museum, and they agreed to let him fill a space with toys and illustrations from his childhood. Kes said, 'I'm not only a children's author, I'm a collector of childhood memorabilia. I've got stuff from my own childhood, I've re-bought stuff that I might have been persuaded to sell over the years, so I could fill the toy room ten times over easily. ' He spent time searching through cupboards and storage units he hadn't opened in years, and found the experience 'quite cathartic' because he could donate his old things to the museum.

The exhibition opens to the public on Saturday and will feature toys, drawings, and other memorabilia that inspired Kes Gray's writing. He hopes visitors will enjoy seeing the items and learning about how his childhood in Essex shaped his stories. Kes believes that childhood memories are important for creativity and wants children to know that their own experiences can inspire them to write, draw, or create. The exhibition is a celebration of Kes Gray's life and work, and a reminder of how powerful memories can be for writers and artists. If you have a story suggestion for Essex, you can contact the museum or follow Essex news online. The exhibition is a unique opportunity to explore the world of Kes Gray and discover the roots of his bestselling books.