A story in eleven tweets!

A rather different writing project, creating a story to be published in a series of tweets!
I was asked to work with an after school book group of children in Barry Library. The group aged 7 to 9 years and part of the Chatterbooks project, meet regularly to discuss stories they have read, but this time they were going to be authors.

I started by giving them an 'author' pencil, and I had made grids with 140 spaces to match the characters of a tweet, with the hashtags we needed added in as well.

The story had to be created in an hour, and the individual tweets had to be interesting in their own right as well as making a narrative. I admit that I had no clear idea how it was going to work! But we started in fine style and it was a noisy session with mad ideas flying around and lots of laughter.

Some library staff sat in on the session, and posed for a photo afterwards, looking rather like the usual suspects.

And then the story typed and tweeted!

I've just realised it doesn't have a title! But you can find it on the twitter feed of Vale of Glamorgan libraries, @voglibraries, with the hashtags #cbxweek and #lovelibraries or you can read it right here. You will see that, although I did guide the shape of the story, the content is pure 7 to 9 year old imagination, and I love the ending which is really asking for the sequel to be written. Enjoy!

Here is a haunted house story, with cow shaped slippers and spider skin swords Brace yourselves!

I opened the secret book and eight wriggling legs reached out and dragged me into the pages and then...

I found myself in a dark and gloomy haunted house. Six red eyes were staring at me, and then...

out of the shadows stepped a three-headed girl. I am Triple she muttered. I need your help. Its cold in here and...

I need three hats without me going into the dark cold weather, because if I go outside I will vanish into thin air.

I stepped outside. The hatshop was guarded by ghost guards with spider skin swords. I felt in my pockets, finding...

some bubblegum. Step aside I said, or I will blow a huge bubble & stick your swords together - forever! The knights replied

Bubblegum is our worst enemy, we will step aside. Enter the hat shop and buy your hats in safety.  Farewell. And so...

after buying three woolly stripy spotty luminous hats, I returned to the dark & gloomy haunted house to Triple, saying

Here are your stripy spotty luminous hats. Now can I go home for tea? Its chocolate fajitas, I don't want to miss them.

She said Before you go back, could you buy my spider eight woolly slippers shaped like cows - they must be size 4!

Poetry in Penarth - perfect!

A visit to the grand and stately Penarth Library this morning.

A lovely class of children came to the library, all the way from Fairfield School in Penarth. I told them some poems, and then asked them to be poets too. Here they are, all looking very studious,

writing poems, and then doing some illustration. There is a big display of work planned for their classroom! We finished with a grand reading of poetry, then I taught them my shark song, and ended by reading the very best picture book of all, Where The Wild Things Are. Many thanks to Julie Dutton at the Library for her hospitality.

After the children had headed off back to school, I went to Ikea and bought shelves for my print shed. Here I am, shortly after realising that the table I need to put my printing press on will fit into the car, but not if there is a driver in it,

A minor detail! Happy days.

Cardiff Children's Literature Festival event

I am delighted to be part of the Cardiff Children's Literature Festival 2013. LOTS of events, all over Cardiff. Here's the link to the Festival website
www.cardiffchildrenslitfest.com

and here's my event - it's going to be fun!

 Poems, Rhymes and Songs with Francesca Kay

Date Fri 22 March
Location Cardiff Central Library
Time 11.30 am
Age Early years
Language English
Tickets FREE
Poet Francesca Kay presents poems, rhymes and songs to listen to, join with and enjoy. Children and adults alike enjoy Francesca's enthusiasm and sense of fun as she spins words and tunes for their delight. Francesca has performed and written poetry with children in schools, libraries, gardens, woodlands, museums and art galleries.
 
www.francescakay.co.uk