When the writer of The Squirrels who Squabbled, Rachel Bright, came to Hay, the audience on multi-colour chairs were buzzing with excitement. From sketching and storytelling to games and laughter, Rachel’s session proved to be the perfect colourful escape for story-loving tots.
“You get to travel the world in your mind!” said Rachel before captivatingly reading from her latest book. With illustrations projected behind her, the children delved into the Canadian forest that’s home to the characters Cyril and Bruce. Muffled murmurs of amazement were uttered to their accompanying parents (and from many of the adults, too) as Rachel oscillated between her protagonists’ rhyming lines. The story aptly ended with the line, “The best thing to share is a laugh with your friends”.
Storytime was followed by an animated illustration session in which the audience were invited to draw their own Cyril the Squirrel. “There is no right or wrong way,” Rachel reminded them, “No two are ever the same”.
With their imagination warmed up, the children then designed their own “completely crazy creature” in collaboration. The result was a crocodile head attached to a dinosaur’s body with polar bear legs, dragon wings and a long raccoon's tail. Rachel praised their creation, proclaiming that she was in a room “full of geniuses”. Evidence indeed that the future is a world yet to be explored for the next generation of Hay visitors.
If you missed this, you might also like event HD19, In the Mouth of the Wolf - Live drawing event, at 4pm on Sunday 27 May.