The Essex Year of Reading ‘Tell Me A Story’ series continues in 2023, with new filmed story time sessions to help families discover a lifelong love of reading together.
Families are being encouraged to get together and watch the latest ‘Tell me a Story’ film from Thursday 12 January, as part of the Essex Year of Reading.
Heather Thompson, Colchester Zoo’s Conservation Educator, is kicking off the series in 2023 by reading the much-loved children’s classic ‘Poo in the Zoo’ by Steve Smallman.
The book is a humorous rhyming tale of head zookeeper, Bob McGrew. He enjoys every aspect of his job expect when it comes to mucking out the animals. One day he discovers something that catches the attention of the entire town.
This latest film will be available on Essex County Council’s YouTube channel, along with the previous films in the ‘Tell me a Story’ series.
Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, said: “One of the most enjoyable ways to improve children’s reading and language skills is to sit down and read with them. It’s also very rewarding for adults too. We hope our ‘Tell me a story’ sessions will inspire families to share books together and enjoy making reading part of their daily routine.”
Heather is delighted to support the Essex Year of Reading and is excited to be the next storyteller, she said: “Reading to children is a great way to spend quality time with children, to engage them with words, stories and imagination. Once children are confident with words they can learn so much about the world and the animals in it.”
The ‘Tell Me A Story’ films are led by well-known faces, published authors and local heroes. Aimed at children 8-years-old and younger, a new story is launched every two weeks. The stories aim to help families get together and discover new stories, as well as hear old favourites read aloud.
Previous storytellers have included TV presenter and author Dermot O’Leary and the Mercury Theatre’s panto Dame. Future sessions will include readings from children’s authors Michael Rosen and Jeremy Strong, as well as an Essex firefighter.
The Essex Year of Reading campaign was created by the Essex Education Taskforce to support children and young people whose education has been affected by the pandemic. It is funded by Essex County Council.
