The Children’s Bookshow
Get inspired by these brilliant live reading events.
Some of the best-known writers and illustrators, including Michael Rosen and Jessica Souhami, are holding live theatre performances and workshops around England as part of The Children’s Bookshow autumn series. The Children’s Bookshow is a charity that started in 2003 to get writers and illustrators from around the world to spread the joys and wonders of reading to young people.
There will be events in 15 theatres in towns and cities including Bristol, Coventry, Crewe, Exeter, Hull, Ipswich, London, Stafford, Manchester, Margate, Newcastle, Weymouth and Wolverhampton.
On 24 September, in Stafford, authors Hilary McKay and Maria Parr will be discussing their novels The
Skylarks’ War and Waffle Hearts. They will read out from their books and talk about how they create characters and invent stories. They will also answer questions from the audience.
The events run until 27 November and there will be performances by a selection of authors and illustrators, including Michael Rosen, who wrote Uncle Gobb and the Green Heads.
As a charity, The Children’s Bookshow is partly funded by Arts Council England and partly by donations from the public. Co-founder Kate Arafa recently climbed Cadair Idris, a mountain in Wales, to raise funds for the project. This year the charity plans to give out more than 4,000 books to young people.
To find out about events near you and more about what’s going on, go to thechildrensbookshow.com