If you want children to enjoy READING…

If you want children to WRITE better stories…

If you want children to UNDERSTAND the world and their place within it…

TELL THEM STORIES!

Stories are wonderful things. They effortlessly transport us to other times, other places. They engage our emotions – make us laugh, cry, shiver with anticipation, sigh with pleasure. Stories make us feel connected, less alone, one of the gang. They comfort and reassure.

Storytelling is a magical art. Even with large groups, there’s a one-to-one intimacy about it that is hard to beat. A good story is irresistible. It’s very hard NOT to listen! When Cat tells a story, teachers are often amazed that ‘you know who’ listened so well and for such a long time.

If you want to improve reading and writing in your school, you need to book a great storyteller like Cat. She will make your children hungry for stories then encourage them to find them in books. She will inspire, energise and motivate your children – make them want to play with words – and show them how to find ideas for their own creative writing. Cat will fire imaginations, generate smiles, rattle wonder bones and make the world seem shinier somehow. This is a rare gift.

These days there are dozens of storytellers offering programmes to schools and libraries. You will find CHEAPER storytellers than Cat. Will they be as good? No! Cat is one of the best – truly talented, inspirational and EXPERIENCED.  She has worked as an artist in education for nearly twenty years and has told stories to thousands of children in hundreds of schools. Every story is carefully chosen to be appropriate to the age and ability of the listener, both in content and language. Most of Cat’s school and library bookings are REPEAT bookings – testimony to how good she is.

Cat is also a successful author. In these celebrity-driven days, children find it enormously exciting to meet someone who knows Michael Morpurgo and has had lunch with Jacqueline Wilson. Her work takes her around the world, from Singapore to Africa to the capitals of Europe. For children to see someone making a successful career from WORDS – reading, writing and telling stories – is both amazing and inspirational. And with her fiery hair and glamorous posters, Cat makes quite an impression – especially on girls. ‘I want to be just like you when I grow up’ is a comment Cat hears at least once in every school.

Cat will help you plan a busy but successful day. It is possible to mix and match sessions eg a ‘Meet the Author’ book session for KS2 + a performance session for the infants + a book design workshop for Year 6 + a visit to the Nursery. Please note that on a ‘mix and match’ day, some infant programmes might not be possible because of time /group number/hall availability constraints – but please ask!

Infants

Cat is especially fond of infants and will work with children from 3 years old. She combines age-appropriate stories with action rhymes, music, singing, physical objects, dance and games to create highly interactive sessions for little listeners. They are imaginative, engaging, memorable, educational and great fun! She sometimes works with puppets too. Her BEAR TALES show has proved enormously popular.

Cat has a general repertoire of infant and nursery stories but she also offers themed days: ONCE UPON A RHYME (famous fairy tales with Cat dressed as a fairytale princess!) SHINE! (stories on the theme of light – perfect for autumn term because it complements Divali, Hanukah and Christmas) BEAR TALES (wonderfully entertaining bear stories from around the world, fascinating facts about bears and gorgeous bear and teddy bear hand puppets) TALES FROM FROZEN LANDS (stories about the people and animals that inhabit the coldest parts of the world plus some truly beautiful hand puppets and toys – seals, penguins, polar bears, reindeer etc) WORLD TALES (glorious stories from around the world. Great for exploring cultural diversity).

Juniors – Performance

Cat tells WORLD TALES in her junior sessions, choosing age-appropriate stories that will engage and challenge her audience. Years 3 and 4 love magic and humour, for example, but older children often feel they have outgrown such fanciful fare, so Cat will give them problem-solving stories, lateral thinking and word play.

For juniors, Cat can also offer MEET THE AUTHOR book sessions. Author events can be quite dry, but Cat includes all her characteristic flourishes – a high energy performance style, music, fairy lights and plenty of audience interaction – to create lively, entertaining programmes that really bring her books to life. All sessions include Q & A and inspirational talk about writing and being an author. One performance can accommodate up to 150 juniors, so a real ‘book buzz’ is generated – especially at the book signing!

Studying Myths & Legends? Cat’s touring family show SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT is available as a special one-hour show, suitable for Years 3 – 6. For more details see the full show listing of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Juniors – Workshops

BOOK DESIGN WORKSHOP – A fascinating ‘behind the scenes’ look at the evolution of a book cover suitable for Years 5 and 6. Working in small groups, the children assess various Barkbelly cover designs, learn about marketing and the book business, and design a cover of their own.

BINNORIE – A highly interactive rhythmic speaking workshop for Years 5 & 6 based on a traditional Scottish ballad.

Barkbelly (US cover)

CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS are available for Years 3 to 6, based on various themes eg dragons, old age, writing a novel, the Brothers Grimm.

Seniors

With teens, Cat favours the ‘big’ themes of life and death, love and loyalty. She often looks at relationships – between lovers, friends or family members. Through her intimate, emotionally-charged stories, Cat shows that life is frequently confusing and love is rarely straightforward. But for all the brutality of our times, life can be beautiful too.

COMING SOON: A special workshop for teenage girls, working in-depth to study the symbolism and powerful emotional issues contained within a traditional tale.

Fees

A full day costs between £275 – £300 depending on what is requested and the location of the school or library. Cat is based on the English-Welsh border near Hay on Wye. Day visits are readily available in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire (west of M5) parts of Gloucestershire, mid and south Wales. Cat is happy to travel further (she frequently works in Birmingham, for example) though a modest travel contribution and/or accommodation fee (£25) might be added. For some areas (eg London) a two day booking may be required (this can be in two schools with the travel expenses divided between them).

Half day visits are possible in local areas (£150).

Generous funding (up to 40%) is available for schools in Wales via Academi’s Writers on Tour scheme: www.academi.org/funding/i/130594

Age 3 – 7: Cat can work with children as young as three, making her a popular choice for Bookstart sessions. She combines age-appropriate stories with action rhymes, music, singing, hand puppets and physical objects to create lively, interactive and entertaining sessions for little listeners.

Cat in action – storytelling

Age 7 – 12: Cat can offer either storytelling sessions or Meet the Author book sessions (or a combination of both!)

Cat tells WORLD TALES in her junior sessions, choosing age-appropriate stories that will engage and challenge her audience. Years 3 and 4 love magic and humour, for example, but older children often feel they have outgrown such fanciful fare, so Cat will give them problem-solving stories, lateral thinking and word play.

MEET THE AUTHOR book sessions. Author events can be quite dry, but Cat includes all her characteristic flourishes – a high energy performance style, music, fairy lights and plenty of audience interaction – to create lively, entertaining programmes that really bring her books to life. All sessions include Q & A and inspirational talk about writing and being an author.

Family Sessions

These are always available to complement book weeks, summer reading schemes, etc. Beautiful full-colour A3 posters can be supplied free of charge to help to publicise your event.

Young Writers Workshops

Cat has worked with many of the Young Writing Squads in Wales. She has a selection of one-hour and two-hour creative writing workshops suitable for juniors (7 – 12) and seniors (12 – 16).

Adult Workshops

Cat frequently leads training sessions for librarians. She also offers workshops for budding writers (So you want to be a Children’s Author?) and Family Storytelling workshops for parents, grandparents and carers. See TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS.

Cat also welcomes any opportunity to work with the Over 65s. This age group is frequently overlooked and underfunded, which is a great shame because they are wonderful listeners and always keen to find ways to occupy their time. Afternoon events for this age group can be enormously popular. Both story sessions and reminiscence sessions are possible – please contact Cat for a chat.

Fees

For children, the daily rate is the same as schools: £275 – £300 per day depending on the location of the library and what is required.

Cat is based on the English-Welsh border near Hay on Wye. Day visits are readily available in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire (west of M5) parts of Gloucestershire, mid and south Wales. Cat is happy to travel further (she frequently works in Birmingham libraries, for example) but a modest accommodation fee (£25) might need to be added. Half day visits are available in local areas at £150.

Workshops and other sessions are by arrangement, depending on what is required and the available budget. Please ask!

Past clients include Cadbury World, Acton Scott Working Farm, Margam Park, Croft Castle, Torfaen Council’s Go Wild! ecology day, Eastnor Castle Family Fun Week, The Powis Wood Fair, Afan Forest Park, The Walsall Leather Museum, Together in Diversity event at the National Garden of Wales, The Green Man Festival and Worcester City Museum.

Green/Ecological Tales

Cat often leads woodland story walks, so many of her children’s stories have a forest/ecological theme. As the children walk through the wood, they pause to listen to stories and collect leaves, seeds and feathers. These are used to make leaf crowns or Native American story sticks. Other activities include sky-walking and Hunt the Snail.

Cat DOESN’T do children’s parties – sorry!

‘It was a truly inspiring day. Lots of very positive comments from pupils and staff. Thank you so much!’ – Swindon Library Service

‘Excellent presentation. Very high standard. The children benefitted from a super day’ – Penllwyn Primary School

Children's drawing of Jaco the Leek

‘I think Cat is the best storyteller in the world’ – Cameron, Machynlleth CP School

‘Thank you for the boundless energy and enthusiasm you have given to each class. You have made our Writing Week exciting, fun and thought provoking’ – Kington Primary School

‘I have seen Cat work with a variety of ages of children for events organised as part of our Bookstart Week celebrations. Each activity was tailored beautifully to the ages of the children and exceptionally well prepared. Cat’s storytelling mesmerised the children and the sessions were really lively and interactive with a good range of storytelling, props, music and songs. I would highly recommend her and am looking forward to a return visit in October. Inspirational!’ – Bookstart, Swansea

‘Last year you visited our school. Since then you inspired me to read. I started by reading ‘Barkbelly’ and now I am reading ‘Snowbone.’ Now my mum has to tell me to STOP reading and go to sleep. But when she leaves the room I carry on reading because I love your books’ – Amelia, Sutton Coldfield

*This show holds enormous appeal for adults as well as children. Village hall audiences for Gawain are usually 75% – 95% adult.

Note for schools – The show is also available as a special one-hour version for Years 3 – 6.

When days grow short and nights grow long… When fires crackle in the hearths and frost freezes on the windows… It’s time to tell the old tales.

The Green Knight

Young Sir Gawain, a Knight of the Round Table, accepts a challenge from the fearsome Green Knight. Soon he is riding north on a terrible quest. Cold, alone and far from home, with the snow falling around him, he suddenly sees a mysterious castle…

Cat’s playful version of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a real midwinter treat – a magical mixture of storytelling, theatre and pantomime that is lively, funny and genuinely thrilling. Don’t tell the audience, but the show contains a REAL GREEN KNIGHT! Six foot tall and green as grass! His entry is totally unexpected and completely unforgettable.

This is a family show, suitable for children over 8 – and unaccompanied adults! Contains loud action.

Reviews

‘We have had 38 shows here, and someone has just said to me this is the best yet!’ – Interval comment from village organiser, Northants.

‘The delighted faces of children transfixed by Cat’s energetic performance was a treat. And the Green Knight storming into the tent with startling hair, lurid green face and red eyes went down a storm!’ – Village promoter, Derbyshire