Three children’s authors took to the stage to entertain and inspire some 500 schoolchildren with the magic of reading at The Chicken House Roadshow, held at The Cheese and Grain in Frome.
The children’s publishing house, celebrating its 20th anniversary, teamed up with Bath Festivals to invite Jasbinder Bilan (new title Aarti and the Blue Gods), Holly Rivers (The Boy in the Post) and Sabine Adeyinka (Jummy at the River School) to talk to children about their writing and to encourage them to write their own adventures.
Cressida Cowell, Waterstones Children’s Laureate, famously set out a ten-point charter which included the intention that ‘every child should have the right to see an author event live at least once’ and this live show provided that interactive experience. The children responded to the authors by joining in quizzes, putting their hands up to answer and to ask questions and enjoyed a sing-along too.
The three authors swept their audience along on a journey of the imagination which took in India, Scotland, Nigeria and to the past where children used to be posted in the mail. They learned about delicious African fruit, boarding school life, mischievous monkeys and the magic of storytelling, with some of them getting the chance to meet Silver, Holly Rivers’ chihuaha.
Independent Hunting Raven Bookshop of Frome brought along a bookstall and offered a discount on the authors’ titles to the visiting children, who came from half a dozen local schools.
Schools who would like to attend the next Chicken House Roadshow in March 2023, with three more authors, should get in touch with email hidden; JavaScript is required.