New issue weeks are always the most exciting round here and we’re delighted to say that Storytime Issue 31 is out now – and it’s both a beauty and a beast of an issue!
Yes, in light of Disney’s big movie release, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to share with you the original and classic version of Beauty and the Beast. There may not be a singing teapot or candlestick in sight, but there is a great opportunity here to share with your children an amazing tale that is thought to be over 4,000 years old, and which thrived for a long time before Disney put their creative stamp on it. It’s always an interesting exercise to compare the film version with the original, so why not indulge yourself in both? Our gorgeous cover illustration is by Letitia Rizzo, who has given us a very dashing Beast!
Get the lowdown on our contributors and stories here…
Inside Storytime Issue 31
We’re celebrating spring with a learn-off-by-heart abridgement of William Wordsworth’s Daffodils – a great poem for home and school. In fact, school subscribers get our free Daffodils Resource Pack to use in class. Find out more here! Look out for Silvia Sponza’s very original take on the illustration too.
Our popular new strand, Tales from Today, returns with Crocodile’s Silver Suit. It’s a sweet and funny story by new writer Lowri Kirkham. Lowri, a student and mum from North Wales, has been writing for several years. She loves sharing stories with her six-year-old daughter. Starring jungle animals and a roller disco, we think this will be really popular with little ones, especially thanks to Lee Cosgrove’s warm and humorous illustrations.
For a bit of action, we’ve got Thor’s Duel – a cracking tale from Norse mythology, featuring Odin, Thor, a giant with a stone skull and an eight-legged horse! You’d be mad to miss it and brilliant and Tim Paul‘s slightly bonkers illustrations.
Bickering siblings? Look no further than our Famous Fable, The Foolish Otters, for a great lesson in compromise. In our story, it’s a clever jackal who gets the better of the otters. Berta Sastre provided the wonderfully expressive illustrations .
This issue’s Tale from Around the World comes from South Korea and features The Terrible Tiger, except she’s not really that terrible at all and gets outwitted by a fruit! It turns out that Korea is home to loads of great stories and I hope to feature more of them in future. Illustrator Pham Quang Phuc has created a truly great tiger for us.
Our rhyming Alphabet Zoo series is back again, this time featuring animals beginning with the letter C. Storytime favourite Tim Budgen illustrated this poem. On this trip, you can learn about the cockatoo, coati, capybara, chameleon and camel. Plus, you can download our Alphabet Zoo activity pack and collect our posters. We’ve had loads of downloads so far, so we’ll keep putting them up there for you.
Finally, we’re celebrating St Patrick’s Day with a fantastic, funny story from Ireland – Jack and the Leprechaun. We hope it gives you a chuckle and you enjoy Daby Ihsan‘s illustrations, which have a rich, retro feel. Farmer Jack in this story reminds me of a well-known Northern comedian. Let me know if you can spot who. We might just have to share it with him on Twitter.
We hope you enjoy Storytime Issue 31. We are always happy to hear what you think on Twitter or Facebook, and don’t forget that we’re on Pinterest too.
Happy reading!
