Jeremy Strong
Tag Archives: Oldham
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:
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