WHEN Adam Dean was a small boy, reading was a chance to escape into a different world – especially if the story was funny.

Now, after years of failed attempts to get books and even the odd sitcom script completed, the 30-year-old is finally on the way to realising his dream, and hopes others will laugh as he did.

Mr Dean, a special needs teacher at Market Field School, Colchester, said: “I don’t expect to make loads of money from this.

“It will be lovely to makemoney but it is more about knowing I wrote something which kids enjoyed.”

Mr Dean has been able to selfpublish the first in what he hopes will be a series of children’s books on Amazon, designed to motivate children to read through the power of laughter.

The first book in the series is called The Tale of the Mechanical Space Dragon and follows the adventures of Nancy and her twoheaded alien friend Boonston Botollbrag who travel through space in a giant metal penguin called The S.M Cheeky, in a mission to defeat the evil Mr and Mrs Grinderpuss.

The book draws on the randomness and humour of writers such as Spike Milligan, Roald Dahl and David Walliams.

Mr Dean has taught autistic children at Market Field School for four years in a role he describes as “challenging but fun”.

He said: “I hope it is one of those things I can say to the children around the school. I can tell them ‘If you want something you can do it’.

“I have always wanted to write a book and publish it, and I hope I can do more of them.

“A lot of people out there are really good at stuff, but don’t do it.”

It was during his teacher training Mr Dean decided he wanted to work with children with special needs, although he spent the first two years of his career at Cann Hall Primary School in Clacton.

It was around this time he started to write, but until now his works had not got to the stage where they were ready for publication.

He said: “It has taken a couple of years to write this one, mainly because of work and I have illustrated it as well, although I am a better writer than drawer.

“I have tried to write sitcoms, I wrote another children’s book a few years back that I didn’t publish and may have to re-jig at some point.”

The sitcom Mr Dean wrote was set on Mars and he intended for it to be submitted to BBC Radio Four.

Sci-fi and humour have been recurring themes for his inspiration.

Mr Dean, who lives in the Hythe, Colchester, with wife Natalia, added: “I grew up reading a lot of Roald Dahl and it made me laugh, and I think that's what made me love to read.

“As I got older a read a lot of scifi, such as Douglas Adams, and I think this book is a little bit of both.

“Reading was a chance to escape in a different world, especially something funny.

“I had a lovely childhood – I grew up in east London – but it was still nice to go into a different world.

“I am trying to get as many people reading it as possible, especially children who find reading difficult. You have got to get something out of it and if it is funny, it is your reward for reading it.”

And reading, he believes, is a key skill which shouldn’t get left behind in the world of visual entertainment and the internet.

He said: “I think it is a really important part of life.

“A lot of people accept the world bywhat they are told on TV.

I think reading is a really positive way of learning about other people’s positives around the world.

“Books are a great stress relief and I read as much as possible.”

So what do his toughest critics make of The Tale of the Mechanical Space Dragon?

Mr Dean said: “There is an excerpt of the first chapter on YouTube and I have played it to quite a few of the schoolchildren.

“They really like it. I amgetting good feedback from the people who have bought it so far.”

When he has sold more than 10,000 copies Mr Dean plans to do a free tour of 100 libraries across the UK and deliver a free signed copy to each library, as part of his quest to improve reading motivation for young people.

  • The Tale of the Mechanical Space Dragon is available on Amazon and comes in paperback or can be downloaded via Kindle.
  • Listen to the first chapter of the book and find out more at www.smcheeky.com