'Who loves stories?' Asks Fleur Alexander, about to take us on an adventure through the wonderful works of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Everyone in the room seems to be a fan of stories from the excitement that is brewing, and we dive into an interactive and storytelling session perfect for any fan of these wonderful worlds.
Alexander is brilliant at engaging the audience, with everyone joining in as she explores stories from Room on the Broom, to Monkey Puzzle, and, of course, The Gruffalo. She soon had the whole hall singing along to 'Wise Old Man', lines from A Sqaush and a Squeeze, which most of the audience knew by heart. Room on the Broom was a popular choice, with many excited children, joining in and volunteering to get up on stage.
Attention did start to waver about halfway through the session, during the book giveaway for volunteers, as it was less interactive for everyone, and this can only be expected in such a big audience of young children, who were beginning to get a little restless. However, moving onto A Squash and a Squeeze and involving the whole audience once more regained some attention for the more popular books, with Monkey Puzzle also being a favourite.
However, it is clear that there is no rival for The Gruffalo and you could feel the excitement in the room as we came to the last story. This erupted as who should enter the room but the Gruffalo himself! Joining Alexander on stage, together they begin to tell the story. However, Alexander turns out not to be very good at the Gruffalo's voice, and has to enlist the help of a dad (who is obviously well-practiced in this) to do his part. As the event comes to a close, the excited children wait patiently to get a photo, and a cuddle, with the Gruffalo. A silly, fun, and interactive event for young children, Spinning Stories captured the power of story-telling and the importance of these tales for young readers.
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