Jessica Souhami Workshop
The Children’s Bookshow allocates four free workshops for schools who attend a related theatre performance.

In her workshops, Jessica Souhami will give children the opportunity to create their own picture book. The children will learn about the role of the “spread” in a picture book, and how to create suspense with pictures and text. Jessica is very interested in how stories travel around the world, and also how a story moves on a journey through a book. Children will take their characters on their own journey through a story and, in doing so they will create their own, original picture book.
- Suitable for:
- Year 3 and 4
Thank you for the fantastic workshop that we received last week. The children thoroughly enjoyed the session and have produced some fantastic work that we are still working on. It was inspiring having a real life author talk about the way that she approached writing. Those children who often find writing more difficult found her methods very useful.
What you need to know
- Length of workshop:
- Approx. 1 hour 30 minutes
- Location of workshop:
- We will come to your school
- Number of children:
- Workshops are for a class of 30 children
- Suitable for:
- Year 3 and 4
Please note, a teacher must be present throughout the workshop
Materials needed
- Flipchart or whiteboard
- Coloured pens and pencils for the children
- A3 plain white paper (about 250 sheets)
- Glue sticks
Book a related theatre performance to be eligible for one of four free workshops
This workshop is allocated to a school attending a specific theatre performance with 30 or more children; visit the performance page to find out more and book:
Are these performances not in your area? See a list of all our events
About Jessica Souhami
Before she became a writer and illustrator, Jessica was a puppeteer. She made shadow puppets and, together with her puppet company Mme Souhami and Co., she travelled around the country bringing to life some of the stories that people have been telling one another for hundreds, and even thousands, of years. In the early 1990s Jessica stopped touring. She still wanted to tell stories but now she wanted to do it through books. Her first book was called The Leopard’s Drum, a story from West Africa. She went on to retell fantastic tales from around the world in her books including Rama and the Demon King, King Pom and the Fox, and Honk! Honk! Hold Tight.
On the day
- Please inform your school receptionist that our artist will be arriving so they can be welcomed warmly.
- A teacher must be present throughout the workshop.
- Make sure that all the materials that our artist has requested are ready and available.
- Please let us know if any of the children have particular requirements, and ensure that their normal carer is present.
- The offer of a cup of tea is often greatly appreciated!
Have any questions? Get in touch

Your contact for this performance is Sonia Monaghan, she will be happy to answer any queries you have:
- sonia.bookshow@gmail.com
- Phone
- 07845 719030