FREE copy of The Tree for every child attending this performance!
How did it go?
A bright blue sky was the fitting backdrop for over 750 children and teachers from 9 local primary schools to arrive at Weymouth Pavilion this morning, to see the immensely talented author and illustrator, Neal Layton, live on stage.
After giving a personal shout to every school, Neal showed us intriguing photos of the media he uses to create his work. Fat crayons, fine pens, messy ink, stubby pencils, all used along with scissors and glue to create Neal’s distinctive collage effect.
Neal showed us Stanley’s actual stick, and then recreated boy Stanley, jumper and all, on the blank page. It's always amazing to see an illustrator draw live, and there was an audible gasp from the children as Stanley emerged from nowhere, ready for his adventures.
Neal talked to the young audience about the power of imagination, and the fun he has with the creative process. It was inspiring and entertaining in equal measure and beautifully demonstrated by Stanley's stick magically putting out loud saxophone sounds as Neal blew into it with great gusto, to the huge delight of the children.
We moved from branches to trees as Neal began telling the children about another of his wonderful stories, The Tree. Sharing with us his inspiration for this story and its journey from 4,000 words to just 40 in the final book. But the perfect word for the squirrel's home, ‘drey’ of course remained. Explaining how all the words he'd written, most now deleted, were all in fact included within the illustrations, Neal directed the children to become detectives, showing them how to spot the clues and read the pictures.
A question and answer session with some searching questions from the children, was followed by a James Carter poem from Weird, Wild and Wonderful in honour of National Poetry Day on the 7th October - not recited by Neal but rapped, yes RAPPED - with the very enthusiastic help of the audience.
The Children's Bookshow has extra funding to give every child attending a performance this year a free book, and it was so joyful to see each child leaving the theatre with a copy of The Tree to take home and keep. The children were very keen to get back on the coach so they could dip into their own copy. Fantastick!
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- Venue:
- Weymouth Pavilion, The Esplanade, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8ED
- Date:
- Wednesday 6th October
- Time:
- 10:30 am
- Duration:
- Approx. 1 hour
- Age range:
- Years 2, 3 and 4
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Neal Layton
Neal was born and raised in Chichester, West Sussex and whilst growing up spent much of his time playing in the dirt, making homemade catapults and drawing pictures. Although gaining a place to study science at University, he went to Art College instead studying BA Graphic Design at Newcastle, and MA Illustration at Central Saint Martins. His latest picture book A Climate in Chaos and how you can help was published by Wren and Rook in 2020.
In Praise of The Tree
“Just 51 words elevate our thinking and leave us with a sense of hope.”
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