Langford nursery children thrilled with visit from local author

Langford nursery children were given a treat when a local author paid them a special visit to read his new book.

Villager David Bradshaw captured imaginations at BEST Nursery and Extended Services, Church Street, when he introduced his publication Tooth Mouth Fang Beak.

The reading took place on February 2 as part of National Storytelling Week, and the youngsters were thrilled when David brought his poems to life.

Sarah Harlow, assistant manager, said: "It was lovely. We put up a couple of the original artworks for the book - the lion and the snake - which are really beautiful.

"He read the whole book with all the different poems and he was getting the children to make animal noises - 'Oh, what sound does a lion make?'

"They just loved listening to him. He seemed to captivate them which was really lovely."

The pre-school invited David to visit after reading his recent feature in The Chronicle.

David said: "A super time was had by all, both the staff and the children enjoyed themselves.

"The children made suitable animal noises, particularly the lion's roar when asked. It was quickly established that they all clean their teeth every day, so they will not fall out.

"An amazing range of questions were asked by the children, who were all great."

Remembering what the pupils enjoyed about David's book, Sarah added: "It was nice because he talked about how the animals felt as well, and the children could identify with that.

"He asked what their favourite stories were, and was interacting with them to help them learn - 'do snakes have teeth?'"

As part of National Storytelling Week the pre-school teamed up with Usborne Books, while some of the teachers recorded themselves reading - with one using sign language.

The nursery staff and pupils would like to say a big thank you to David for coming to read to them and hope that he will visit again.

Sarah added: "It's nice to have that support and partnership within the village."