Author of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt set to visit Z-arts for the Manchester Literature Festival children’s poetry event.
Z-arts in partnership with Manchester Literature Festival are delighted to announce that the much-loved children’s author Michael Rosen will be live in Manchester this Friday 7th October 2016 for a one-off children’s poetry event.
Michael Rosen will be at Z-arts to perform a series of sold out poetry shows in front of hundreds of Manchester’s children and families.
Z-arts have teamed up with Manchester City Council and the National Literacy Trust on the Read Manchester campaign which aims to promote reading and the power it has to boost literacy and transform lives throughout the city. Throughout the year Read Manchester will be promoting events and activities across the city to help improve literacy levels amongst all age groups and encourage people young and old to read for pleasure.
Z-arts are producing Michael’s Top 10 tips on reading for pleasure, filming is taking place during his sell out visit to Z-arts on Friday and will be hot off the press following his event and available as a brand new resource for the Read Manchester campaign and his loyal fans.
Throughout Autumn Z-arts are inspiring people to read through the brand-new to Manchester Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and Bad Things. Children and families can relive the bear hunt through the eyes of Michael Rosen and see his poems and stories come to life from the page; enter through the swishy swashy grass, stumble across the lazy river and into the giant chocolate cake and dare to explore the dread shed!
The interactive experience is based on the books and poetry of Michael Rosen and Z-arts in partnership with the Read Manchester campaign are aiming to raise literacy levels across Greater Manchester and to inspire families to pick up books and read.
Z-arts Chief Executive Liz O’Neill said: “Michael’s top 10 tips are going to be a real inspiration for children and families to pick up a book and discover the pleasure of reading, whether its comics and magazines, novels, or online literature”
Director of Education and Skills for Manchester City Council, John Edwards, who launched the interactive experience in September commented that: “Reading is the key to learning, well-being and opportunity. Being able to read is the foundation for success in education and employment.”
Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and Bad Things is an interactive experience for children and families, bringing the printed word to life by recreating the poems and stories in a larger than life set that children can explore and play in. Families are able to explore the fantastic stories and poems of former Children’s Laureate and bestselling writer Michael Rosen whose works include We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake, The Book of Bad Things and Uncle Gobb and the DreadShed.
Younger children will be able to participate in a Bear Hunt trail whilst older children can go on a fun fact finding mission and create poems of their own to take away. Michael has collaborated on the project, and the exhibition features hidden rooms where clues can be found that reveal the inspiration behind Michael’s writing, including his Grandparents’ sitting room and his childhood classroom.
Award winning author Michael Rosen says: “This exhibition is one of the most exciting things to have happened in my writing career. I am someone who has found a way of writing that is often about digging up stuff to do with my past and here it is made into a giant exhibition that families and schools will be able to explore. I hope that children will see that reading’s not something that’s dry and stuck to the page, but something you can live. I hope that this will lead to many more children writing and performing new poems and stories.”
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For further information, images, or for interview / press review ticket requests, please contact Laura Stevens at laura@z-arts.org or 0161 226 1912