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Lochcarron has
run these for the last three years on World Book Day, which was until
this year during Bedtime Reading Week. The title is ‘Nippers in
Slippers’, so year 2 was ‘Nippers in Slippers 2’ and this year is
‘Nippers in Slippers go African’ – we have not taken out copyright on
this title, you are free to use it! Primary age children are invited to
attend in their night attire and to bring a favourite cuddly. Publicity
is done through the school and the local press, in addition to the ECS
spring activities brochure. We start at 6.00pm and go on for an hour,
although this year, such is the popularity of the event and the lack of
space in the library, we have had to split the children by age and hold
two 45 min sessions.
The main activity of the evening is stories. This event can be entirely
run by library staff, if you have the confidence to read/tell stories,
or you can have a mix of staff and invited guests or you can buy in a
professional if you have the cash or can persuade one of your ECS
colleagues to part with theirs! However you do it, variety is the key,
so split stories up with action rhymes and songs to get the children
participating. It’s great to have someone with a guitar to accompany a
couple of songs. The stories and rhymes can be themed or not as you
wish. We have a break for milk and cookies before the last story, but
this is optional.
This is an easy event and has been very successful so far – fingers
crossed. Do remember that parents will be arriving to deposit and pick
up their offspring, this is a great opportunity to do some quick
promotional work for them too – a themed display of adult books while
they wait, a leaflet on the importance of bedtime reading in the home……
Oh one last point – it is absolutely not the done thing for library
staff to turn up in clothes! Pyjamas and slippers please, even if you
have to go out and buy some! You may think you look a twit, but the kids
will be impressed and think of the photo shots for Criomagan! |
