Enchanted Hour Stories

Here is Ingrid, rising three, who was so delighted with her first session she went back to look at the books I had read while I chatted to her mother.
development

The Mitten - a Ukrainian folktale retold and illustrated by Jan Brett.

I read this to my Year 1 children this morning and they loved it. There was so much to look at in this deceptively simple story. Jan Brett's illustrations capture perfectly the wonder of winter in the apparently empty Ukrainian countryside. I liked the detail too in the little cottage with its folk art and the characters in their traditional costumes. It is all surrounded by the artist's impression of birch bark paper. I learnt today of Ukraine's ancient birch bark books. Fascinating!

Our stories connect us and provide comfort in times of trouble.

We stand with Ukraine.

materials

I am delighted to saythat I will be speaking at the inaugural Farnham Literary Festival on Saturday, 5th March. My talk is called 'Wonderful and Powerful' - exploring picture books for 7-11 year olds.

It's my first foray into public speaking and I'm a little nervous. But I do know that my resources at Enchanted Hour Stories are second to none and that my fabulous selection of picture books
will illustrate (literally) any point I make.

I watched this moving programme on catch up last night. I heartily recommend it. Jay Blades, the popular TV presenter, talked about his struggles with dyslexia. He was diagnosed aged 31. Now he is learning to read - from scratch. And what was his motivation? It was his long held wish to be able to read a bedtime story to his daughter. (And there wasn't a dry eye in my house as he did) This wish was a common theme on the programme expressed by prisoners and suburban grannies alike. We who can read take so much for granted.

I have no wish at Enchanted Hour Stories to replace parents but to complement and support their efforts in their reading aloud. Stories are not a finite territory to be fought over but an infinite land of wonderful possibilities. To this end I will be initiating a new lending box scheme to subscribers. Watch this space!

Unspeakable, Unbound...Unjust and Uncaring. These two moving true stories which arrived today record the horror and inhumanity of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the unfeeling treatment of a little girl with Down Syndrome. I feel honoured to have them at Enchantedhourstories.

The Tulsa Race Massacre used to be known as the Tulsa Race Riot - with the implication that the Black Community was to blame for the destruction of their neighbourhood, businesses and way of life.. We now know more of the truth and know that the White authorities conspired with each other to destroy 'Black Wall Street'.

The little girl, Judith Scott, suffered as a result of antiquated attitudes towards people with disabilities and learning difficulties. She became a celebrated artist in later life and her story is told by her proudest advocate, her twin sister.

Both these books are exquisitely illustrated. Unspeakable has been nominated for the Caldecott Prize and Unbound boasts Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet as artist.

This bundle of fabrics, gorgeous and otherwise, are the raw ingredients of my vocabulary quilt. It is a post- Christmas project to help children understand the numerous references to materials, stuffs and fabrics in children's stories. (Velvet is NOT a colour!) I have fabrics from India, Scotland, Indonesia, China and Central Africa. I have silks, brocades, tweeds, corduroy, embroidery and lace. There are plaids and paisleys and spriggy prints. I even have a washing machine disaster in the form of felted cashmere. Failing to understand these words is not a disaster but being able to imagine the colours, textures and patterns adds so.much more to a story. deficit

Here is the window that welcomes you to Christmas at Enchanted Hour Stories. It represents that lovely old English Carol " I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In..." The Christmas story is one we can all identify with, from the last heavy months of pregnancy to the joy of a new baby. The gifts from the shepherds and the three kings have their modern parallels in teddy bears and premium bonds. Above all, we can see that Mary and Joseph's (temporary) homelessness and their fearful flight for their lives are mirrored in today's fractured world. I wish you all a happy, peaceful and safe Christmas.

I bought these two beautiful pots at a brocante market in central Guildford yesterday. One is a furniture polish jar and the other a Chinese export ginger jar. Both had been dug out of the ground. What stories would they tell if they could talk?
Would they be of a poor life ending in a midden (good vocabulary for a child!) or stories of journeys on the high seas and grand houses. You decide! Here is my selected read to go with them. Linda Sue Park's "A Single Shard". It is a tale of craftsmanship, old Korea and love and was a very worthy Newbery Medal winner. Utterly absorbing. For children of 10+.

A few weeks ago, I put up a post about a raffle prize I was offering to Doddie Weir's charity that supports research into motor Neurone disease. The lucky winner gets a handpicked selection of books for a child of their choice. Here is Eleanor (who blagged the prize) with a selection for Freddie (20 months). I have chosen books that will last him at least 18 months as he grows and learns. Some have flaps for little fingers and all have wonderful vocabulary for language development. The late great Jill Murphy is represented, as is one of my favourite authors, Atinuke.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b051vlpp

In this link acclaimed children's author David Almond looks at the lack of children's books that have been translated INTO English and that we are missing out a wealth of wonderful children's stories as a result. I am aware that I should be offering stories from many countries but find sourcing good modern foreign books in translation difficult. Here is my meagre collection, I will be building on it!

Thank you to Louise who brought this to my attention!

Last night I was thrilled to see the planet, Jupiter, with the naked eye. Look to the top left of the moon and you will see a small very bright dot. Sadly I have no telescope but binoculars provide some resolution.

I am now very excited about Space Week (4th -10th October) and put together some of my space resources. The theme this year is Women in Space - and what a lot of them there are! It is safe to say that "manned" exploration couldn't have happened without them. I love my newest arrival "Journey around the Sun - the Story of Halley's Comet" by James Gladstone.

Get your children excited too with these wonderful books at Enchanted Hour Stories.

What could be more enchanting than a meadow filled with wild flowers and butterflies? Here are some of my butterfly and moth books to celebrate these glorious insects. Also included are biographies of two famous entomologists, Maria Sibylla Merian and Evelyn Cheeseman. I love Julia Donaldson's new title, The Woolly Bear Caterpillar. I can just imagine the discussion and further enquiry it would provoke. I have just recorded my first count for the Big Butterfly Count (some photos included) Why not get your children to follow in the footsteps of Merian and Cheeseman?

Teachers' Reading Challenge. Update 1.

We are now ten days into the Teachers' Reading Challenge and here is my progress so far: some new books, some classics (that I really should have read before!) and some that just appealed. Which one did I enjoy the most? Fly Away Home by Christine Nöstlinger. It's a classic for a good reason: not too difficult for the average 9-10 year old, eye-opening and funny. It's also a good insight into the second world war from an Austrian perspective. All the books shown here are well worth a read. The Tulip Touch, The Skylark's War and Arctic Star are for children of 11 and over. Arctic Star is printed in a dyslexia friendly format. My next title is Jaz Santos v The World. I will keep you posted.

NOT a children's book today!

I am one chapter down into this fascinating read and I am struck by how useful to my story telling it will be. Textiles and words (text) are culturally intertwined: yarns are spun and spells are woven. The richness of the vocabulary relating to cloth making is not lost to children but its many meanings are. They might understand the metaphor 'warp and weft of life' without having the foggiest of what warp and weft are in reality. Something to address in a fabrics of fairy tale theme, methinks!

It is World Environment Day and here are just some of the books at Enchanted Hour Stories with an environmental and conservation theme. Most importantly, they all contain a positive message. We can make a difference whether we practise responsible farming, buy land to protect it or restore a complete food chain. We can look after our rivers and oceans and everyone is richer for that conservation effort.

Enchanted Hour Stories has recently contributed to the purchase of chalk grassland on Pewley Down helping to protect the last 3% of this valuable biodiverse habitat. This project has engaged the whole community including the local school. I believe that educating children to make a difference to the health of our natural world is essential.

Eric Carle's books were not part of my childhood (I'm too old!) but they were certainly part of my children's lives from their earliest years. I have the fondest memories of the smell of newly washed hair, fluffy dressing gowns, and snuggling up on the sofa with an amazing cast of animal characters. .

Thank you, Eric Carle, for hours and hours of pleasure - both in the past and in the future - as I read your stories to a new generation of children.

Here is a report on the BBC news today which highlights privilege and possible prejudice in the Civil Service. It speaks of comments made in Latin - comprehensible to the select few. Whether this exclusion is intentional or not it shows the hidden power of 'cultural capital' or 'cultural literacy' The acquisition of this capital begins in our earliest years with hearing stories at our parents' knees, being read aloud to throughout early childhood and going on to read independently and enthusiastically in later childhood. Nobody should underestimate the power of cultural capital.

Pewley Down Fields has been saved for the people of Guildford, a campaign which Enchanted Hour Stories has supported. The fields are a magical place filled with meadow flowers, butterflies and lark song. Our children, who already suffer a disconnect with the natural world will never know the power of nature to heal unless we for fast to save it. Robert MacFarlane has highlighted our diminishing knowledge in his beautiful book "The Lost Words". Jackie Morris is the equally talented artist.

Enchanted Hour Stories is proud to have supported the campaign to save Pewley Down fields for the people of Guildford- a magical place filled with cowslips, orchids, butterflies and the sound of lark song.

Our children are losing that essential connection with and knowledge of nature that comes with experiencing wild places - a point highlighted by Robert MacFarlane's book " The Lost Words" (with exquisite illustrations by Jackie Morris).

With generous community initiatives such as the SPD campaign many more of our children will experience the joy of hearing a lark on the wing or seeing a flowery meadow throughout their lives. Nature will benefit and so will our mental and physical health.

The photo of Pewley Down fields is by Matthew Harwood.