Actor Michael Sheen to launch new children’s book about homelessness
It comes after Sheen recently bought £1 million of debt belonging to hundreds of people in South Wales for Channel 4’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway.
Actor Michael Sheen is to launch a new children’s book about homelessness called A Home For Spark The Dragon.
Co-authored by Jess Webb with illustrations by acclaimed artist Sarah Massini, the book will aim to help young people understand homelessness and will support charity Shelter when it is released in hardback on June 5.
Speaking about the new book, Sheen, 56, said: “I feel very fortunate that I got to grow up in a safe and happy home, but knowing that for many people this isn’t the case, has increasingly made me want to do what I can to help.
“I’ve always believed that telling stories is an important way to make change in the world – and in the long run, stories for children can make the most change of all.
“For these reasons, I wanted to try to tell a story for young readers about a character who loses their home.
“Working together with storyteller Jess Webb and illustrator Sarah Massini, I created Spark the dragon, his animal friends, a magical woodland world and a quest to find a new place to call home.
“I hope Spark’s adventure is fun to read and at the same time, that his story gives a way in for young readers to talk about what it is to be homeless – and to start to think about ways to make a difference.
“I’m proud to be publishing Spark’s story in partnership with the charity Shelter, supporting the important work they do to fight the housing emergency.”
Publisher Puffin and Sheen will give £1 from the sale of each hardback copy and 50p from the sale of each paperback copy of the book in the UK and Ireland to Shelter, which defends the right to a safe home and fights the impact the housing emergency has on people and society.
Shelter’s analysis of the latest statutory homelessness statistics shows 164,040 children are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation in England.
The charity says the figure has increased by 21,650 (15%) in just one year.
Sheen is best known for playing historical figures such as former Nottingham Forest and Derby County manager Brian Clough in The Damned United (2009), former British prime minister Tony Blair in three films including The Queen (2006), and comic actor Kenneth Williams in BBC Four’s Fantabulosa! (2006).
The actor most recently used £100,000 of his own money to buy £1 million of debt belonging to hundreds of people in South Wales for Channel 4’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway.
