Cat Weatherill – Storyteller & Author

Dublin & FATE

Cat — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:26:27 +0000

Dublin was wonderful! My host – the legendary Irish teller Niall de Burca – was charm personified. Nothing was too much trouble for him. I spent a wonderful morning telling in a couple of schools – great kids, very lively – and then he took me to see seals basking just off the shore line. So lovely. I had the pleasure of sharing a stage (again) with the dynamic Kasper Sorensen when we performed at The Cobblestone, and the three of us had a great night at a live music pub in the city centre. Memories to treasure

Off to Festival at the Edge 16 – 18 July where Kasper will be performing again. I will be having an easy time of it this year. No performing – just enjoying!

Kasper and Niall outside the venue for our Dublin debut!

Dublin trip

Cat — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:11:13 +0000

Off to Dublin next week. Working with Niall de Burca and Kasper Sorensen.

Fabelhaft!

Cat — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:00:38 +0000

I’m off to the Fabelhaft Festival in Austria next week. I’m performing for four nights, in a different fairytale castle each night. How wonderful is that? www.fabelhaft.at

Another foreign festival!

Cat — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 10:40:37 +0000

I have just been invited to perform at a storytelling festival in Naarden in Holland. I’ve done a show there before. It’s one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever seen – and it has a fabulous toy shop. When I last visited I bought a wonderful bear’s head – like a hunting trophy – and that led to the creation of my infant show BEAR TALES.

Diary of Events

Cat — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:55:18 +0000

Diary of Events

Cat’s village hall touring season is generally September – April. Dates marked * have been arranged via the National Rural Touring Scheme (see www.nrtf.org.uk for further details). These shows frequently sell out, so advance booking is strongly advised! The contact number given is the local organiser.

MAY

Saturday 15 – CARDIFF Wales Millenium Centre, 12 noon solo one hour performance. Free admission!

Monday 17 – Monday 24 – AUSTRIA Fabelhaft! Storytelling Festival
www.fabelhaft.at

Wednesday 26 – BIRMINGHAM, Thimblemill Library, private event.

JUNE

Wednesday 2 – MARGAM PARK near Port Talbot. Family story sessions throughout the day.

Friday 4 – Sunday 6 – THE NETHERLANDS, Zwolle Storytelling Festival
www.waterfall-storytellingfestival.nl

Wednesday 9 – WILLENHALL, Pool Hayes Primary School.

Friday 11 – Monday 14 – MOSCOW Book Fair.

Thursday 17 – GARTH Primary School.

Monday 21 – ROTHERHAM Children’s Book Festival

Wednesday 23 – Friday 25 DUBLIN details tbc

JULY

Wednesday 7 – MALVERN Libraries private event

Wednesday 14 - HURST near Reading. Dolphin School private event

Friday 16 – Sunday 18 – FESTIVAL AT THE EDGE (not performing this year, just having big fun).

AUGUST

Friday 13 – ABERAERON, Bawdy Stories, Aberaeron Memorial Hall, SA46 0DP. 7.30 pm.
www.nightout.org.uk

Saturday 14 – LLANWRTHWL, near Llandrindod, Wells. Pebbles and Pennies, Living Willow Theatre, Penlanole, Llanwrthwl, LD1 6NN. 7pm (note this early start).
www.shakespearelink.co.uk

Friday 27 – Sunday 29 – WEST COUNTRY STORYTELLING FESTIVAL, Totnes.

SEPTEMBER

Saturday 4 – Sunday 5 – NAARDEN The Netherlands Storytelling Festival

Friday 24 – CAMBRIDGE, Falling Like Feathers, details tbc.

OCTOBER

Friday 1 – Wednesday 6 – KENYA Storymoja, Hay Festival
www.hayfestival.com/storymoja

Wednesday 13 – BURTON ON TRENT schools event in library

Saturday 23 – LEOMINSTER Event in Priory. Details tbc

Friday 29 – Sunday 31 - HAY ON WYE Town of Tales Story Festival Events to be announced

JANUARY

Friday 28 – Saturday 29 – KISS AND TELL. New show with Kasper Sorensen. UK venues tbc.
www.fortaellekunsten.dk

Barkbelly

Cat — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:58:30 +0000

Barkbelly cover

One shiny egg falls down, down, down through the midnight sky. A wooden egg, no larger than a goose egg, but much heavier. And inside the egg is Barkbelly…

Barkbelly is an outsider – a wooden boy – and when a terrible accident happens, everyone in the village blames him. Suddenly Barkbelly is on the run for his life.

Through the mountains and on he runs. A dark and dangerous journey to the other side of the world and back again. Barkbelly sleeps under the stars, rides on a circus wagon and sails on the deck of a pirate ship. He runs faster than he has ever run in his life. And along the way, he learns the truth about where he
comes from.

Once he knows where that place is, he has to go there. But will it be where he belongs?

BARKBELLY is a magical, fast-moving adventure story, packed with amazing machines, giant hedgehogs, salty pirates, a circus and a jam factory!

Reviews of Barkbelly

A startling fresh voice in children’s books. Cat Weatherill is one of our great storytellers, vivacious and inventive. She brings all her consummate skill to the creation of her first magical book – Michael Morpurgo

The real star of this month’s fantasies is Cat Weatherill’s BARKBELLY. What makes the book special is not just the quality of the author’s imagination but her richly poetic style – Amanda Craig, The Times

Cat’s curious fable of a wooden boy cries to be read aloud – Helen Brown, The Daily Telegraph

Cat Weatherill’s BARKBELLY falls squarely in the glorious category… As in all the best stories, what he learns on the way about love, friendship and courage becomes the real point of the tale – Christina Hardyment, The Independent

I think it’s just wonderful. Cat has brought her vivid storyteller’s gifts straight on to the page — her Barkbelly is a lively, affecting wooden hero, as much a real boy as Pinocchio ever was. This is a magical and moving debut –
Erica Wagner, Literary Editor, The Times

This is magical and wonderfully exciting storytelling, which lifts effortlessly aloud off the page, fuelled by the musical rhythms of the language and the tidal rhythms of traditional stories – Books For Keeps

Shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award for best debut novel
Shortlisted for the Calderdale Children’s Book of the Year
Published in America by Knopf Books
Reading age 8+

BUY NOW: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barkbelly-Cat-Weatherill

Librarian & Play Staff Training

Cat — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:44:38 +0000

Cat’s training sessions are enormous fun! They are hands-on, lively affairs packed with ideas and practical advice. Cat usually concentrates on storytelling with younger children since this is what librarians and play staff do most. She shows participants how to –

Gain and hold attention
Add colour to a storytelling session with the use of puppets, toys, props and musical instruments
Remember and tell stories rather than reading from a book
Keep discipline with young children – and their accompanying adults!
Spontaneously tell stories

She can also consider practical things, like organising a story session, setting out the room, meeting and greeting etc. The sessions always include action rhymes and infant dance (trousers are recommended) and an opportunity for Q & A.

Words for the songs and rhymes are provided free of charge.

Fees: Full day (4 hours teaching time plus breaks) £350. Half day (2 hours) £200. Maximum 20 participants.

Flying Start staff training workshop evaluation comments

‘Cat is an excellent trainer; very enthusiastic’

‘The training was absolutely fantastic; full of ideas, stimulation and ideas were extremely relevant for my work’

‘Plenty of good ideas to aid a successful storytelling session’

Family Storytelling Workshops

Cat — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:37:55 +0000

Telling stories is a FREE form of entertainment available to every family. It creates an intimate from-me-to-you feeling that helps develop and strengthen family bonds.

Family stories can be personal, unique and true. They can help children find their place within the family, establish their own identity and feel special.

Storytelling exposes children to words. The amount of words a child is exposed to between birth and eight years is the main predictor of their later social, emotional and cognitive success in life.

Best of all, story telling is FUN! So why don’t people do it?!

Perhaps they lack the confidence to try. Perhaps they dislike reading and think stories can only be found in books. Perhaps they never had stories as a child and simply don’t know what they’re missing. Whatever the reason, Cat can help.

Cat’s family storytelling workshops are all about BUILDING CONFIDENCE and INSPIRING people to give storytelling a go. She looks at –

Reading stories from books
Making up magical new ones
Spinning stories from everyday objects like dolls, shoes and vegetables
Bedtime stories
Celebration stories
Family stories to treasure and pass on
Using stories to heal and soothe.

The workshops are friendly, interactive and great fun. They generally last two hours (with tea & chat in the middle!) They are primarily aimed at mums, dads and carers with children aged 2 – 7.

Fee: £200 including travel. If this is genuinely beyond your budget, please contact Cat anyway. She is always happy to talk!

Storytelling Workshops

Cat — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:33:37 +0000

Cat also offers workshops in various aspects of storytelling by special arrangement.

Please contact her to discuss your plans and ideas.

Great Year So Far

Cat — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:44:29 +0000

What an amazing year I’m having… The Hay Festival have invited me to take part in Storymoja 2010 in Kenya – and now the British Council have invited me to perform at the Moscow Book Fair in June!