A book fairy in Cornwall shares their #ReadWithTheBookFairies project which started in lockdown!
Book fairies in isolation…
Covid 19 has changed everyones plans and goals over the last year, making us stay at home and having to deal with isolation like we’ve never had to before. Luckily, its meant everyone has some extra reading opportunities and means we’ve all done a lot more reading than we might have been able to.
The launch of #ReadWithABookFairy!
Back in April 2020, the book fairies in Cornwall, UK decided to collectively read stories out loud for our followers and allow children to see a different face for a short time, whilst also listening to a story. Between 4 Cornish book fairies, over 100 children’s books were read for Instagram and facebook, and the engagement was wonderful. We had so many messages of children tuning in daily to listen to another story, enjoying the different voices and faces, and that they were listening to different stories than they may necessarily have had access to. So this is where the idea began, and where it expanded from to such a bigger project.
It started with Matilda…
The Cornish book fairies decided to read a longer story, doing a chapter each to allow older children to engage in our stories. We started with Matilda by Roald Dahl, and between 3 book fairies and a mini book fairy (our 9 year old Cornish book fairy, who read incredibly), we finished uploading that to Instagram and youtube.
Then The Secret Garden…
We did The secret garden by Frances Hodgson Barnett next, with an additional London book fairy reader, and then for our next book, we made it worldwide.
Reading Black Beauty – around the world!
Our third book was Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, which had book fairies from Texas (USA), Cornwall, South wales (Uk), Northern Ireland (UK), New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, Idaho (USA), London (UK), which had 18 different voices contributing to read this book, included 2 new mini-book fairies from New Zealand and South Wales! It was wonderful.
Time for Wind in the Willows!
So we continued, with the Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, which saw the addition of another London book fairy and a book fairy from Switzerland contribute! Some costumes started to come out of the closet…
Next? The Witches by Roald Dahl!
Next up, was The Witches by Roald Dahl, which saw the same readers cover this story! But things escalated, and it wasn’t just readings anymore, but performances. We had fairies dress up, and decorate the room, including smoke machines and props for their chapters! It was incredible!
A Festive Treat was next!
December saw the reading of The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher covered by 3 Cornish book fairies and our wonderful mini book fairy, in time for Christmas eve, adding to the Christmas spirit in the best way we could.
Click here to hear The Book Fairies reading The Christmasaurus aloud https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7eshYpntH9UPpFIWeaOvznl5iNSl3xXw
Dressing up for Anne of Green Gables!
January 2021 saw the start of Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery, in which an Australian book fairy and the book fairy in Cheshire (UK) joined the reading group, helping us share this beautiful story.
Although the majority are old, classic tales, in isolation, seeing the different faces has made a real impact on those needing a little bit of socialising.
In February, we’re starting our next book which will hopefully include more wonderful book fairies (weve already have 22, but other accents are always great) and will bring more joy in this gloomy time.
To listen to our stories and subscribe, head over to our channel using the link :
https://youtube.com/channel/UCQUG0au6H5GCPC4gp9b1OYg
Or, for each individual playlist, use the links below!
Matilda : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7eshYpntH9WOOWOi8PdWYQgLE21Vyswp
The secret garden : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7eshYpntH9VqXDWknVICBet-OKQ1d64y
Black beauty: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7eshYpntH9UB84vaAkCoiqnkhCqKkJqB
The wind in the willows: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7eshYpntH9WvtHxt_yROi9YMaN-1OEH0
The witches: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7eshYpntH9X01lmvkkiTKOsirCyMkkDj
The christmasaurus: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7eshYpntH9UPpFIWeaOvznl5iNSl3xXw
Anne of green gables: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7eshYpntH9XYGHuej_NgA8qJtMlJrP_B
And for the shorter stories, head over to our Instagram (@bookfairies_cornwall) to watch on our IGTV.