Storylines Wellington 2015 Reporting Back

STORYLINES WELLINGTON 

Sunday August 23^rd 2015 

Reporting Back

Philip Webb in action illustrating a story

Donovan Bixley helps create a medieval gauntlet

Ruth McIntyre  The Children's Bookshop

From the moment I walked into the compact but roomy Shed 6 down on the Wellington waterfront where Storylines 2015 was being held, it was obvious it was a success. It was midday and there were children everywhere (accompanied usually by adults) but this was no aimless moving about - children were all totally engaged in activities. There was much to be involved in and it was nearly all based on recent children’s books.  Gillian Candler’s nature series about the ocean, the rocky shore and the beach provided the stimulus for a magnificent marine display, which had children and adults crowding around it all day. There were activities based on Kyle Mewburn’s Dinosaur Rescue and medieval series, a Book Nook where children could listen to or just look at recent picture books and what Storylines would be complete without the portly red figure of Clifford padding about and waiting to be hugged and photographed. My favourite part of the day was to be sitting in the audience of children who helped Philip Webb and Kyle Mewburn create and illustrate a new story – it was complicated and involved a flying Swiss cheese, a black dragon called Edith, a pack of evil Teddy Bears and a dragon-catching fishing net.

Eileen Mueller (the coordinator) and her large team of volunteers should have gone home happy although totally exhausted with the thought that all the weeks (and weeks) of work
had culminated in such an enjoyable experience for everyone who came down to Shed Six on Sunday. Congratulations.  And good luck to the Storyline events still to happen next weekend.