Clifton pupils celebrate World Book Day with visit from storyteller

In celebration of World Book Day (March 3), housebuilder Mulberry Homes treated Clifton pupils to a special storytelling session and donated one hundred pound's worth of books.

The year two class at Clifton All Saints Academy was visited by storyteller Janina Vigurs, who captured the imaginations of the six and seven-year-olds with interactive elements.

The story Janina told was a traditional folk tale about a mouse with "very particular requirements" who sets out to find a suitable home for the winter.

Rebecca Byrne, headteacher at Clifton All Saints Academy, said: “We are very thankful to Mulberry Homes and Janina for providing our year two children with such a fantastic storytelling session. The children were very engaged and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

“We’d also like to send a huge thank you to Mulberry Homes for their generous donation of books to our pupils. The children are very excited to read them and celebrate World Book Day!”

The donated books all form part of Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara’s ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ series on influential figures, and included stories on Martin Luther King Jr, Prince, Vivienne Westwood, Charles Dickens and more.

Janina, who held a Q&A session with the pupils as part of their traditional tales topic, said: "The children were a complete delight and really embraced the silliness of the tale with me.

"Through phrase repetition, rhyme and action they were able to take ownership of the story and were eager to tell it to other children at lunchtime. We had a really mature discussion afterwards about story structure and the nature of what traditional storytelling is.

"The children asked very thoughtful questions that were rewarding for me to answer."

Kerry Jones, sales and marketing director at Mulberry Homes, said: “We were delighted to arrange this storytelling session and donate such wonderful books to the pupils of Clifton All Saints Academy to celebrate World Book Day, and are thrilled to hear they had such an enjoyable time.

“At Mulberry Homes, it’s extremely important for us to form lasting partnerships with the local communities where we build our new homes, and offer our support wherever possible. Events like this give us the chance to make a positive difference, something which is very close to our hearts.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of World Book Day. The annual event is focused on encouraging children to enjoy reading stories and writing their own, and helps children fall in love with storytelling.

Meanwhile, in 2022, Mulberry Homes is running a monthly community fund, called The Mulberry Community Chest. As part of the programme, charities and public organisations local to its developments are invited to apply to receive a one-off donation of £1 to £1000, and each month, a judging panel will select a beneficiary to secure the requested funding.

For more information or to submit an application, visit https://mulberryhomes.co.uk/news/distinctly-local/> What did your child dress up as for World Book Day? Send your pictures to us at [email protected]