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Pumpkin carving and centrally heated knickers....wow what a half term!

10/31/2013

Fantastic pumpkin carving at Sticky Steph pumpkin extraordinaire lady and her talented team. Lots of lovely cats, witches and castles being carved.

Then lots of little witches around Snape this evening looking very jolly. All reminded me of one of our very favourites in this house: The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy. Really sweet, gentle and funny. A jolly good read.

Between pumpkin carving and witchy excitement we took in Michael Rosen's 'Centrally Heated knickers' at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich.

Wonderful mini orchestra too and all rather marvellous...catch it if you can....

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New homes for Winter storyshack-any ideas gratefully received.....

10/30/2013

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As I sat curled up with my book in Storyshack yesterday I was missing some imagineers making but it gave me a good reason to read 'The Lion of Sole Bay' by Julia Jones. This is her fourth book and, although it has the characters from the previous adventures you don't need to have read the 'Strong winds' Trilogy to read this one. It's all about THE RED LION so if you're familiar with that pub this will reveal much exciting history about the area and all sorts of mystery and adventure. Not only is it set around here (Martlesham Creek and the Deben) but also it takes place at this time of year too. What more could you want of a half term/into November read. You DO NOT need to know anything about sailing to like this book either-you just need to like a GOOD STORY with modern day characters you may well recognise.

It was a bit of an odd day yesterday so it was rather lovely to be lost in a books for a while. I was conscious that I had lots of requests about opening in the holidays but that was before the wind blew and cut this whole area off for a wee while. It was a bit difficult to communciate what was going on so I'm wondering if any of you out there have thoughts/ideas on venue/s for winter storyshacking. It's great for the summer but winter is a great time to lose yourself in book making and reading somewhere warm. Unfortunately the Storyshack barn is absolutely wonderful but possible couldn't be described as warm when the winter sets in! We need to have nimble fingers when we're booking making and doing some tricky, intricate stuff BUT I'm very keen to run some workshops - particularly before Christmas because you could make some books as gifts for other people too :-) If your imagineer thinking cap is raring to go then let me know via the contact form or my e mail address. I'd love to hear from you.

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'We all ...... have an obligation to daydream. We have an obligation to imagine.' Neil Gaiman

10/27/2013

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I've been catching up on my reading this weekend and apologise for being rather remiss with my blogging recently. Have had a busy few weeks out and about meeting lovely people; trainee teachers, teaching in school, PD days and meetings. Have just finished the 1st Ruby Redfort which is excellent. Would highly recommend it as an antidote to flimsy female characters who don't get to have much fun and action in books. Ruby is a strong, very intelligent character with a very dry sense of humour. I enjoyed the fact that there is that little bit of quirky Lauren Child humour threaded throughout it too just like Clarice Bean, well all her picture books actually.

This weekend I have the luxury of being able to lose myself in book(s) which is a sign of HOLIDAY. I am curling up with a book awaiting the forecasted wind, thinking I need to batton down the guinea pig hutch. Fire is lit (it's not that cold but it's lovely to have) and next adventure awaits: 'The Lion of Sole Bay' by Julia Jones.

This is not only a treat, a wonderful experience, a luxury in terms of time BUT a necessity. I've grown up with books and I love them. I love the way you can escape into them, I love being absorbed in a story. Love the anticipation, the thrill of finding out what's going to happen next, of reading on, of being unaware of time passing outside in the real world. I see that as a gift, a gift we should also impart to our children-our future.

I've tweeted about the excellent Neil Gaiman article in the Guardian already. I agreed with it so strongly I feel I need to highlight some of his thoughts because STORYSHACK's line is 'Release your imagination' and THAT'S what he firmly advocates.http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/24/neil-gaiman-face-facts-need-fiction
I feel compelled to share parts of it with you too.

He discusses how the power of story can be the :
"gateway drug to reading. The drive to know what happens next. to want to turn the page, the need to keep going , eve if it's hard, because someone's in trouble and you have to know hot it's all going to end....that's a very real drive. And it forces you to learn new words, to think new thoughts, to keep going. To discover that reading per se is pleasurable."

He warns against choosing for children and steering choices, advocating, instead finding the stories 'they need to, and they bring themselves to stories' BECAUSE "We need our children to get on to the reading ladder: anything they enjoy reading will move them up, rung by rung into literacy." At this point I am jumping up and down and wanting to shout this from the treetops. (If you remember I'm by the fire but hopefully you get the picture!)

His point about escapism is so relevant to today, perhaps even more so as we seem to be expecting our children to grow up and become teenagers when they've left Reception. I certainly can't say it any better so..."Fiction can show you a different world, It can take your somewhere you've never been. Once you've visited other worlds, like those who ate fairy fruit you can never be entirely content with the world that you grew up in. Discontent is a good thing: discontented people can modify and improve their worlds, leave them better, leave them different

And while we're on the subject. I'd like to say a few words about escapism. I hear the term bandied about as if it's a bad thing. As if "escapist" fiction is a cheap opiate used by the muddled and the foolish and the deluded, and the only fiction that is worthy, for adults, or for children is mimetic fiction, mirroring the worst of the world the reader finds herself in.

If you were trapped in an impossible situation, in an unpleasant place and someone offered you a temporary escape, why wouldn't you take it? And escapist fiction is just that: fiction that opens a door, shows the sunlight outside, give you a place to go where you are in control, are with people you want to be with' and more importantly , during your escape, books can also give your knowledge about your world and your predicament, give you weapons, give you armour, real things you can take back into your prison. Skills and knowledge and tools you can use to escape for real."

The reason I would love everybody to read this is because it's about everything reading brings us and nothing about data, drive and improvement. It's everything about what we SHOULD be doing because reading is wonderful nothing about reading because it'll improve our scores and results and our league table status. It's what we should be doing and it's not some arty farty creative type wanting everyone to daydream and not learn. If you think it is then woe betide you because, as he says (of imagination):

"But the truth is, individuals change their world over and over, individuals make the future, and they do it by imagining that things can be different."

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Hairy frogs, talking potatoes, married shoes-who'd have thought it?

10/17/2013

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I was rather thrilled by Monday morning this week (doesn't always happen!) due to a mystery parcel containing a surprise prize book' The Good little Devil and other tales' by Pierre Gripari.
When it arrived I was still gripped by "The Screaming Staircase" (which I'm going to find out more about in a mo when I hear Jonathan Stroud talk) so opened it on Tuesday. It's SUCH FUN to coin a phrase, it really is. I'm enjoying it and have regaled members of my family with some of the tales already as I've been snorting out loud at them and therefore had to explain myself. Very quirky, a little bit silly and rather wonderful. Short stories - modern fairytales with twists - but with a thread of characters running through them in a rather clever way. I don't want to say too much because you should open it up and take a read yourself.

There's a very funny story about a pair of shoes who want to be together but are bought and worn, much to their dismay because they are separated by the act of walking! They decide to try and veer towards each other and so trip their owner up. It's one of those books that you think where did that idea come from? Any story about a talking potato who has ambitions of becoming a French Frie is surely worth a peek? There's subtle humour for adults too so it would be a lovely laugh out loud one for bed time or any other time actually. Some gory bits but then fairytales are actually pretty gory when you think of it and it's nothing worse than any of those shoving people in oven to eat them stories or bleeding feet squeezing into dainty shoes.....

The drawings are amusing too and reminded me of a book I got from the Chip club (remember that in the 70s?) about a French school boy called NICHOLAS. Quite sketchy and energetic....I must find a copy for storyshack again though alas there is no CHIP CLUB any more. They add to the characters in the story. Love the one, particularly, of the fish and the frog but don't want to spoil that story so you can see the talking potato up above and Nicholas down below.

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Iron filings, rapier, salt, Greek fire at the ready to meet 'The Screaming Staircase' author?

10/15/2013

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This THURSDAY:
In the Lecture Theatre, Country Library, Ipswich, IP1 3DE
(Old Foundry Road Entrance)

Entry: Members FREE
Non-members £1

Suitable for ages 10+

Places should be booked in advance by contacting Jayne Gould

at [email protected] or on 01473 714672

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Will tea and biscuits be enough?

10/12/2013

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I don't know is the answer because I'm off to purchase 'The Screaming Staircase' by Jonathan Stroud as I am hoping to go to this on Thursday:
http://www.fcbg.org.uk/ipswich-childrens-book-group/
I haven't plucked up the courage to read it yet but i MUST because the author is coming to Ipswich and it's always wonderful to listen to writers talking about their work. If you visited STORYSHACK over the summer you might have taken a postcard for this book OR seen the posters up. It looks great but I've heard it's a bit of a 'page turner scary'. Will the biscuits be enough? I'll let you know!!

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Storyshack on tour at the 2013 Suffolk HT conference - a joy to talk to schools today

10/10/2013

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Very lovely to catch up with the very wonderful headteachers of Suffolk at the 2013 Suffolk Primary headteacher conference today. It was a privilege to be able to display story shack goodies and talk about book making, writing, books, imagining with colleagues. The support and enthusiasm was a real boost, it really really was. I'm looking forward to taking some book magic into schools and seeing you all again.
You do a great job, don't forget it :-)

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