Writing with Beasts is an interactive, hour-long creative writing workshop, including puppetry, a Q&A and readings from the internationally bestselling The Beast and the Bethany series. As part of this session, children will be given the prompts and inspiration to write and finish their own short stories. Please bring your own clipboards with paper and pens.
Jack Meggitt-Phillips is the author of The Beast and the Bethany, Revenge of the Beast, Battle of the Beast and The Final Feast – a children’s series about a young 500-year-old, a hungry beast, and a rebellious prankster who’s about to be eaten. The series has been translated into over 30 languages, and has had a major film deal announced with Harry Potter producer, Heyday Films. The series has also won the West Sussex Children’s Book Award, the Alexandra Palace Children’s Book Award, the Stockport Children’s Book Award, the Fantastic Book Award, the Awesome Book Award, and the Channel Island Children’s Book Award.
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the workshop. The session will last approximately one hour and will take place on the first floor of the library.
Suitable for children aged 8 - 11 years old. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Purchase tickets for both adults and children attending. By booking a ticket you are guaranteed a place, but there will also be drop-in spaces available on the day so if tickets sell out please still come along.
Jack will be signing books after the workshop.
Sue Hendra will lead us in a fun 45 minutes of Supertato with stories and the creation of your very own super veggie.
Sue grew up in Wimbledon and has always loved making up stories and drawing pictures. Her favourite book as a child was Mr. Silly. She graduated from Brighton University in 1994 and has been creating picture books ever since. In 2006, she met Paul Linnet and could instantly see that she’d met a fellow nitwit who liked talking nonsense. Sue loves swimming and can swim up and down for a very long time. Her favourite book is still Mr. Silly.
https://www.supertatoandfriends.com/index.html
Please arrive at 11.30am for a start time of 11.45am. The session will last approximately 45 minutes and will take place on the top floor of the library.
Suitable for children aged 4 - 7 years old. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Purchase tickets for both adults and children attending. By booking a ticket you are guaranteed a place, but there will also be drop-in spaces available on the day so if tickets sell out please still come along.
This event is currently SOLD OUT, but check back here for returns.
Sue will be signing books after the workshop
Maria Leonard is an experienced special needs assistant and qualified makaton tutor. In this 30 minute storytime she will sign stories for all children to enjoy. Maria will read and sign two favourite stories - "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" and "Stickman".
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the session. The session will last approximately 30 minutes and will take place in the Bill Buck room on the first floor.
Suitable for all children with additional needs and for young children who enjoy storytime. all children must be accompanied by an adult. Purchase tickets for both adults and children attending. By booking a ticket you are guaranteed a place, but there will also be drop-in spaces avaible on the day so if tickets sell out please still come along.
This session is part of the Family Day at Crawley Library.
Join Momoko for a workshop where she will read When the Sun Goes Home, demonstrate how to draw different emotions, then guide the children in a craft activity of making the sun with different faces.
Momoko is a London-based author-illustrator from Japan.
MY STORY SO FAR…
I came from a family of bookworms and I grew up in a house made of book shelves (my grandpa was a poet, my dad was a writer and my mum was a school teacher), where I was allowed to doodle on the walls (or I thought I was). As a child, I made up stories and doodled all the time – on notebooks, furniture, walls and even back of exam papers! As a grownup, I am pretty much the same although I don’t draw on furniture that much any more.
My interest in visual storytelling brought me to the UK to study filmmaking when I was 20. Although I still work in the TV/film industry, I decided to pursue my true passion for children’s book illustration. Since then, I’ve attended workshops and short evening courses and mainly taught myself how to make picture books by reading lots of books and meeting many picture book makers. 6 years later, my first book, Avocado Ask (Orchard Books) was published.
I like dynamic compositions and beautiful colour combinations, and animals and food are my favourite subjects to draw. Although I mostly create my artwork on computer these days, I still enjoy using both traditional media such as gouache paints and colour pencils.
London is now my second home. I enjoy living here with my cat, Clementine. And here I am. This is my story so far. (I did classic ballet for 15+ years and I have applied for the Great British Bake Off once but these are stories for another time.
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the workshop. The session will last approximately one hour and will take place on the first floor of the library.
Suitable for children aged 4 - 6 years old. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Purchase tickets for both adults and children attending. By booking a ticket you are guaranteed a place, but there will also be drop-in spaces available on the day so if tickets sell out please still come along.
Momoko will be signing books after the workshop
Join best-selling author Cath Howe as she shares a host of ideas to help you find stories and characters using objects, drawing and simple drama games. Come along and be inspired!
Cath Howe is an author and teacher working in South West London. Cath is known for her warm optimistic books that open up discussions around empathy, friendship and resilience.
Her titles for 9-12 year-olds centre on relatable child characters in real-world situations. They depict the challenges faced by friendships and families, with a light touch. Ella on the Outside was published by Nosy Crow in 2018 followed by Not My Fault, How to be Me, The Insiders and My Life on Fire.
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the workshop. The session will last approximately one hour and will take place on the top floor of the library.
Suitable for children aged 8 - 12 years old. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Purchase tickets for both adults and children attending. By booking a ticket you are guaranteed a place, but there will also be drop-in spaces available on the day so if tickets sell out please still come along.
Cath will be signing books after the workshop
Join Lindsay as you grow your own mythical creature. She will use her book The Great Phoenix of Londonas inspiration to design a creature as a baby and how it changes as it grows into an adult. Please bring along your own clipboard with paper and pens as well as your imagination!
Lindsay is the author of Darwin’s Dragons, The Call of the Titanic, and many other children’s books. After working for over 20 years as a teacher, Lindsay is now a full-time writer. Lindsay’s acclaimed novels for independent readers all have one thing in common — you can expect the unexpected!
Blending fact and fiction, her unique historical stories combine meticulous research with high stakes storylines, heartwarming friendships, and elements of the mythical and mysterious. Lindsay loves to explore the relationship between animals and humans, placing her beloved characters in perilous situations and atmospheric settings.
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the workshop. The session will last approximately one hour and will take place on the first floor of the library.
Suitable for children aged 8 - 11 years old. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Purchase tickets for both adults and children attending. By booking a ticket you are guaranteed a place, but there will also be drop-in spaces available on the day so if tickets sell out please still come along.
Lindsay will be signing books after the workshop.
This session is delivered in the form of an interactive drama workshop, and uses role play, movement and story telling to bring a narrative to life. Children will take on different roles and will use their bodies and voices to tell the tale of Anansi, and how he became the keeper of stories.
Anansi The Story Keeper
The Anansi stories are traditional tales that originated in Ghana, and centre around the character of Anansi. He is half a man, and half a spider, but he is a great trickster and loves to make mischief!
At the start of this tale, Anansi is very sad, because there are no stories in the world – they are all locked inside a box that belongs to Nyame, the great Sky God. Anansi must use every ounce of his cunning and tricks to win the stories back. Will he succeed? Or will stories be missing from the world forever?
There are no starring roles within this session, and no prior drama experience necessary. All children will play all of the roles, and will work together to bring our story to life. This session is facilitator-led, while still allowing children to creatively explore a narrative. It also offers children the opportunity to hear stories from other parts of the world, and allows us to share our own favourite stories.