Vicky Holmes, One of the World’s Most Successful Children’s Fiction Creators, Joins the Ellie Ment Series
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
For decades, Vicky Holmes has helped shape what millions of children around the world read. As creator, editor and co-author of global phenomena including Warrior Cats (under the collective pseudonym Erin Hunter), and as a guiding hand behind series such as Animal Ark, Rainbow Magic and Heartland her work has sold more than 150 million copies in over 40 languages. Yet Holmes has largely remained behind the scenes — an influential presence rather than a public commentator on where children’s fiction is heading.
Today the Clean Planet Foundation is delighted to announce that Vicky Holmes has been named as the developmental and copy editor on Ellie Ment, the Clean Planet Foundation's middle-grade series that blends adventure with real science.
The first book, Ellie Ment and the Material Matter, reached number one on Amazon in both the UK and the US, won the top honour at the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, has been taken up by schools and reading programmes, and features Jennifer Saunders as the voice of the audiobook which currently sits in the Top 20 Children’s Books in the USA.
Despite admitting she “knows next to nothing about the sciences”, Holmes was drawn to the project for different reasons. A former teacher, she was struck by the way story and real-world logic were blended to create what she calls a form of “invisible learning” — where ideas are absorbed without ever feeling taught.
The series is published by the Clean Planet Foundation, the Clean Planet Group’s not-for-profit education arm. It was conceived as a way to spark curiosity about science and the environment through story; sales of Ellie Ment directs proceeds into projects in UK schools and communities.
On announcement Vicky chatted with LoveReading4Kids and reflects on how children’s fantasy is evolving, why young readers are often underestimated, and why embedding real ideas inside compelling stories may be one of the most effective ways to help children make sense of the world they are growing up in.
Children listen with their eyes as well as their ears: as creators of stories, we have to be responsible with the facts we present because this kind of “invisible learning” begins every time a book is opened. Just as readers learned about the world of the warrior Clans alongside Rusty in Into the Wild, so they will absorb principles of science and ethics as a result of Ellie’s adventures.
-Extract from Vicky Holmes' interview with LoveReading4Kids
About Clean Planet Foundation
The Clean Planet Foundation is a UK-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to tackling plastic pollution, advancing climate education, and empowering communities through science, storytelling, and action. From the HAPSIE comic series for budding eco-warriors to the Seed Collection Project in partnership with Trees for Life, and the BBC featured Peninsula Project, CPF aims to connect people with nature and drive systemic change from the ground up.