Tag Archives: bolton

Jeremy Strong, Nigel Auchterlounie and me

I have been very lucky to work with some top writers who also turned out to be very decent and supportive people.  They championed me and my work without ever seeing what I had done with their stories.  So this week I decided to share video of The Hundred Mile and Hour Dog with Jeremy Strong and Dennis and the Chamber of Mischief with Nigel Auchterlounie.  This was a bit daunting because whilst I am confident in my own work the last thing you want is for somebody to say they hate what you do and you should stop.
I needn’t have worried.  They both loved what they saw:
“Don’t miss John Kirk’s genius storytelling. He’s brilliant!  John Kirk brings stories to life in an amazing way and encourages children’s reading, writing and listening skills”.

Jeremy Strong

“That was excellent John. Thanks so much for showing me and thanks so much for doing it in the first place!  You had me laughing within the first couple of minutes.  Well done! I loved it!”
Nigel Auchterlounie
It was a great thrill to have the opportunity to tell these stories but I’m even more thrilled that having shared footage of my retellings both authors took the time to watch the films and comment on it.  I’m also glad because whenever I have told the stories I have seen myself as an advocate of the author; a sort of unofficial cheerleader for the books trying to encourage young readers to engage with their titles.
As a storyteller you come to appreciate that some words go further and mean more than others and after a lot of work and a lot of miles travelled these words mean an awful lot to me.

My adventure with Dennis continues! #dennis2018

In March 1951 Dennis the Menace and his dog Gnasher made their first appearance in The Beano.  Dennis, the trouble making school boy who terrorised his arch enemy Walter, proved popular with readers and soon became the Beano’s most famous character and their longest running comic strip.  As the world has changed so too has Dennis and as he approaches 70 years old Dennis, with his trademark black spiky hair and red and black striped jumper, is now more than a comic book hero, he’s a British institution.

In the summer of 2018 Dennis and his Beanotown friends supported The Summer Reading Challenge; a national reading scheme encouraging children to read in the school holidays and I presented Nigel Auchterlounie’s “Dennis and the Chamber of Mischief”.  To date (this blog was written in August 2018) my retelling of the story has been heard by almost 3000 children in public libraries across England.  The response from audiences and librarians has been overwhelming:

“Fantastic, lively, creative and entertaining storytelling.  Brilliant way of encouraging children to get interested in books.” Audience member, Nottingham City Libraries

“It was excellent.  A good balance of performance storytelling, great support for reading and literacy skills development…  The high level of participative activity ensures sustained engagement and enjoyment.”  Librarian, Derby City Libraries

Children have really enjoyed hearing about Dennis, joining his adventures and tackling the challenges of the Chamber of Mischief.  They have left our sessions buzzing about reading and the potential of books.  The response in cyberspace has been equally positive with lots of parents, grandparents and libraries taking to social media to share photographs and feedback using the #dennis2018.  It may have been a long, hot summer but Dennis has made it very enjoyable.

Now, with the kind support of Bonnier Publishing, I am pleased to announce that this storytelling session is to be made available for school assemblies and events.  For the next ten months teachers will be able to introduce the zaniness of Beanotown to their classes as Dennis helps us encourage and inspire a love of reading.

Nigel Auchterlounie’s “Dennis and the Chamber of Mischief” is published by Studio Press and is available through all good bookshops and public libraries.  If you are interested in my retelling of the story I will be visiting Bolton Libraries and participating in the Loogabarooga Festival in Loughborough during October.  If you’d like Dennis and the Chamber of Mischief to visit your school or event contact me.

Dennis and the Chamber of Mischief #dennis2018

I am pleased to announce that I will be telling Nigel Auchterlounie’s Dennis and the Chamber of Mischief this summer.  This isn’t just exciting because it’s Dennis the Menace but because it’s a brand new title being released by Beano Studios and Templar Books in May 2018 and they are entrusting it to me.

Below is a list of presentations which includes libraries and literature festivals.  The eagle eyed will notice that this year I’ll be doing a full week in London with further dates in the East Midlands and more work than ever in the North West.

I am also pleased to announce that Joseph Attenborough will be creating another original composition for the story and I’ll be sharing a poster for the summer created by Dan White on this website soon.

We are still three months away from the first date and there is still a lot of work to be done but I’m hoping that we can deliver something very special for the summer.  To keep up to date on how I get on use the hashtag #dennis2018 when searching for the project.

The Big Malarkey in Hull –  24/6/18

Manchester Libraries – 27-28/6/18

Oldham Libraries – 4/7/18

Sefton Libraries – 5-6/7/18

Wirral Libraries – 9/7/18

St Helens Libraries – 10/7/18

Brentwood Children’s Literary Festival 2018 – 24/7/18

Thurrock Libraries – 25/7/18

Southend Libraries – 25/7/18

Derby City Libraries – 31/7/18

Redbridge Libraries – 2/8/18

Westminster Libraries – 3/8/18

Hackney Libraries – 7/8/18

Brent Libraries – 8-9/8/18

Kensington Libraries – 10/8/18

Cheshire East Libraries – 13-14/8/18

Cheshire West Libraries – 15-16/8/18

Rutland Libraries – 21/8/18

Nottingham City Libraries – 22/8/18

Luton Libraries – 23/8/18

Bexley Libraries – 28/8/18

Trafford Libraries – 15/9/18

Bolton Libraries – 6/10/18

I’m pretty busy this October half term..

I’m pretty busy this half term.  Come and see me in action.
Friday

My #librariesweek

Its National Libraries Week in the United Kingdom, a celebration of everything that’s great and glorious about public libraries and what they offer.  There have been countless events, talks and activities being hosted the length and breadth of the country and library authorities seem to have gone all out to demonstrate their value within the communities they serve.

I have got involved too as the #100mphdog has become the 100 mile dog with visits to Stoke on Trent, Bolton and Nottinghamshire as well as spending some time as a visitor to Telford Libraries ahead of my appearance at the Wellington Arts Festival 2017 (one of the largest free literary festivals in Britain).

As I type this its just gone 7am on Saturday morning and I’m en route to Bolton.  Tomorrow my day will be taken up with getting to and from Mansfield.  This morning the train is pretty busy and I’ve got a carton of orange juice, my lap top and a load of football fans for company.  I may be working all weekend away from Lauren and Verity but it’ll be worth it; Bolton are one of my favourite authorities to work with and the library team in Nottinghamshire are a lot of fun.  This weekend we’re not only celebrating #librariesweek but the Summer Reading Challenge as children and their families collect their certificates at ceremonies laid on by the library and I provide the entertainment.  I did a celebration event a few weeks back in Bromley and was struck by how much meeting the mayor meant to the children and their families.

I have probably said it in this blog before but its a real privilege to share stories in wonderful library spaces.  In recent weeks we have begun taking Verity along to rhyme time sessions and borrowing books with her.  She enjoys being in the library and literally eats books.  This year I celebrated 5 years of work with libraries.  What started with a handful of London’s libraries has expanded beyond my wildest expectations but I still love visiting new libraries and communities.  Whenever I work with a library they give me a platform to tell a story; it might entertain, inspire or challenge a young person and that’s brilliant on so many levels.  There’s a lot of satisfaction in knowing that the library believe in you and these days its affirming to see familiar faces in library audiences.  In Stoke on Trent we did two presentations; at Hanley and Stoke libraries.  I have been telling Jeremy Strong’s “The Hundred Mile an Hour Dog” since June; sometimes its the 5mph dog but so far this week its been the 110mph Dog.  One teacher even remarked that it had been worth filling in the risk assessment to see it!

Next week it won’t be libraries week and all the verve and vibrancy that has crammed my social media timelines will subside but library life will continue and it won’t be long before there’s another big event and libraries will pull out all the stops again.  As for myself I will be working hard to ensure that I can work with libraries in the very near future and that the events I offer continue to be of a standard and quality that these fine institutions deserve.

 

#100mphdog

Things are coming together nicely for the summer tour of Jeremy Strong’s “The Hundred Mile an Hour Dog” and today I thought I’d share the poster image.

We are doing 99 presentations of  the story (I say we because these days its a team effort; Joseph Attenborough has agreed to create the soundtrack, the poster image for the project was created by Dan White and Dan McGarry is doing some presentations for me this summer so that I can have some time with my new family).  The dates are now up on the website so have a nose through and see if we’ll be passing your neck of the woods.

To keep in touch with what we get up to I’ll be using the hashtag #100mphdog on social media between June and October 2017.  I look forward to seeing you this summer!