Dec. 14th, 2022 at 6:59 PM
Kate Winslet set to read Grumpycorn!
If you're in the UK, join KATE WINSLET (yes, you read that correctly!!) on Monday, 19 December at 6:50pm on CBeebies to watch and listen to her read Grumpycorn, my picture book about a Unicorn who wants to write the most fabulous story in the world.
So excited to see it, and you can read more about her reading and other stories that are going to be read over on the BBC website here! If you miss it, you can tune in later in iPlayer.
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While I'm totally over the moon about this - I love Kate! Thank you, CBeebies!! - I also have a request for the CBeebies Bedtime Stories programmers: can you please allow the stars to hold physical copies of the books on the show (rather than simply plushies, and projecting images onto the screen)? I wrote a blog article in 2019 which was reprinted in The Bookseller magazine on this subject. From my experiences over more than 20 years of talking with children about books, I have noticed that when they seem images on a screen, they don't seem to connect them and the story with the act of reading. It's only when they see a physical copy of a book in the hands of someone that they admire, that they make the connection: Oh, I too could hold a book in my hands! A book is cool! ...I could even read it!
I know the BBC isn't supposed to be commercial, but they're already saying the name of the author and the title of the book - would it be so bad if children were inspired to go out and find the book themselves? They wouldn't even need to buy it, the presenters could encourage them at the end of the reading to look for the book in their local library. A library is like the BBC, funded by the people, and supposed to have educational value, it not a commercial venture; and it's in all our interests to get children reading. Surely the BBC isn't quietly but deliberately trying to discourage children from reading to keep up their viewing statistics? That wouldn't fall within their educational remit and I'm sure they wouldn't make that as a conscious decision. But there's something very simple that they could do to show they're serious about encouraging children to read. And there's a predecence of Jackanory to show someone opening and closing a real book: please, BBC, can we make this happen?
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Meanwhile, if you'd like to get into the Grumpycorn mood, here's a video to walk you through drawing your own Unicorn in a festive jumper! Perfect if you or a little one are looking to make a last-minute Christmas card:
So excited to see it, and you can read more about her reading and other stories that are going to be read over on the BBC website here! If you miss it, you can tune in later in iPlayer.
-------------
While I'm totally over the moon about this - I love Kate! Thank you, CBeebies!! - I also have a request for the CBeebies Bedtime Stories programmers: can you please allow the stars to hold physical copies of the books on the show (rather than simply plushies, and projecting images onto the screen)? I wrote a blog article in 2019 which was reprinted in The Bookseller magazine on this subject. From my experiences over more than 20 years of talking with children about books, I have noticed that when they seem images on a screen, they don't seem to connect them and the story with the act of reading. It's only when they see a physical copy of a book in the hands of someone that they admire, that they make the connection: Oh, I too could hold a book in my hands! A book is cool! ...I could even read it!
I know the BBC isn't supposed to be commercial, but they're already saying the name of the author and the title of the book - would it be so bad if children were inspired to go out and find the book themselves? They wouldn't even need to buy it, the presenters could encourage them at the end of the reading to look for the book in their local library. A library is like the BBC, funded by the people, and supposed to have educational value, it not a commercial venture; and it's in all our interests to get children reading. Surely the BBC isn't quietly but deliberately trying to discourage children from reading to keep up their viewing statistics? That wouldn't fall within their educational remit and I'm sure they wouldn't make that as a conscious decision. But there's something very simple that they could do to show they're serious about encouraging children to read. And there's a predecence of Jackanory to show someone opening and closing a real book: please, BBC, can we make this happen?
-----------
Meanwhile, if you'd like to get into the Grumpycorn mood, here's a video to walk you through drawing your own Unicorn in a festive jumper! Perfect if you or a little one are looking to make a last-minute Christmas card: