You may remember that we reviewed Dinosaur Roar as part of the book’s 20th Anniversary celebrations last year. When I spotted that the illustrator, Paul Stickland, was going to be in our neck of the woods at the weekend I ordered tickets for Dinosaur Roar at the Oxford Literary Festival.
The session was from 12-1pm on Saturday, so Monkey and headed into Oxford via the Park and Ride buses which he always sees as a real treat.
We got into Oxford early so we could spend some time exploring the Ashmolean Museum, where the session was being held. Monkey really enjoys it there, lots to see and they are really child friendly! We had an early lunch in the cafe and then headed into the Lecture Hall. I was a little nervous as I’m never sure how Monkey will react to new situations but I was hoping that a love of dinosaurs would conquer all fears!
There was no way that Monkey was going to sit on the floor at the front with the other youngsters, but there was no pressure and he coped with it all rather well.
Paul Stickland was great with the children who I would guess were aged between 4-6 and he had them captivated as soon as he started talking.
We got to hear Dinosaur Roar at the Oxford Literary Festival, being read by Paul, with his wonderful illustrations showing on the big screen.
Once we’d listened to the story, it was time for us all to have a go at making a card dinosaur head puppet! Paul gave us the initial idea and then it was up to us to come up with our own creations. Monkey loved this part of the session.
He could really let his imagination run wild and of course Mummy got given instructions too!
What I really liked about the session, was that Paul went from table to table talking to all of the children as they made their creations. He really put a very shy Monkey at ease.
You can see Paul’s creation here. Of course there had to be some Dinosaur Roaring too! Roar Mummy!
At the end of the session we’d made a dinosaur puppet and Monkey had done some drawings too. We then got the chance to ask Paul to sign Monkey’s copy of Dinosaur Roar! and you know I can never resist a new book for our collection! He signed Ten Terrible Dinosaurs for Monkey too!
We’d spent a wonderful hour with Dinosaur Roar at the Oxford Literary Festival and hopefully memories have been made.
Needless to say that there was lots of Roaring all the way home!
If weren’t going away I think we’d have signed up for more sessions, and I’d have liked to have attended a few of the more grown up events too! Next year!
I’m passionate about reading and books in general and I have a feeling this festival will be a fixed date in our diary as Monkey grows up from now on.
Bad time for a young children’s session in my opinion. I’d have had to have sat N there with food!
Looks like a good session. I’ve never made it to Oxford, or to the Chipping Norton literary festival. Keep meaning to make it to both.
Yes I did think the time was a bit strange, hence heading for lunch there beforehand. I’ll certainly go again.
Hi Mum and Monkey! Very good to see you at the event. So glad that you both enjoyed it too.
I do try to do events where there is enough time to talk to each child, or parent, individually. It’s not always possible but it can make all the difference, particularly for ( but not in this case! ) the less confident child or parent. Children always want to get stuck in but often a parent or grandparent will need encouragement to play, no matter how much they want to have a go! I love seeing their delight and amazement at their creations. I’ll be doing more adult workshops later this summer.
It’s much more fun for me too, hearing all their wonderful ideas, perhaps encouraging them to try something but most importantly encouraging them to experiment and make mistakes, that’s when they really surprise themselves.
There are more pictures of the event on my G+ profile here: https://plus.google.com/+PaulStickland/posts
Thanks again, send a big ROAR! to Monkey… Paul
It was lovely, and he hasn’t stopped talking about it.
This sounds like a fabulous event and Paul seems lovely. I’d love to take my two along to more of these kind of things-especially my daughter. She would absolutely love anything to do with illustration.