Tuesday 5 November 2013 From panto to picture books, there was plenty to appeal to Yorkshire’s young story lovers this half-term during a special event held at Leeds City Museum. ‘We Love Stories’ was a free family fun day organised with The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL), through a partnership that brings themed half-term events to the museum. Getting in the mood for their upcoming pantomime Sleeping Beauty, Harrogate Theatre’s education team ran panto workshops and brought plenty of costumes for children to dress up, get into character and enjoy their favourite stories. The focus on stories was inspired by the museum’s current exhibition ‘Through the Magic Mirror’ which takes young readers into a life-size recreation of the imaginary world created in the picture books of Anthony Browne. Youngsters had the opportunity to try out the illustrator’s art for themselves thanks to author and illustrator Stephen Waterhouse, invited along by Ilkley Literature Festival after their successful 40th anniversary festival fortnight. 11-year-old Megan Fletcher attended Stephen’s workshop and said: “I enjoy drawing so it was interesting to get some tips and find out how Stephen creates his ideas and see all the different media he uses to make his pictures which are bright with lots of detail. He does drawing first and says then if you’re going to write do it afterwards.” Stephen said: “The children were very observant and gave good thoughtful answers. I try to open their imaginations and inspire them to create their own characters and express themselves through drawing. Everyone has a special style, there’s no actual way to draw and you’ll uncover your own drawing language so it has personality.” The museum’s arena played host to a variety of story themed craft activities, face painting, storytelling and Chol Theatre’s inflatable ‘Spin a Silly Story’ pod, where children could spin a wheel of words and create their own stories. General Primary Senior School News
