Stories are an essential ingredient in children’s lives as they provide vital entertainment, learning skills and stimulation – plus they help them to understand the world around them.
I recently illustrated a children’s story for the London Mums magazine ‘Story Time’ column. The aim of the story was to:
- help strike a connection between words, sound, image and feeling and;
- combine these senses and to help make music more accessible to children.
The writer invited children and their carers to read a story about a group of animals in the African savannah alongside a piece of selected classical music (Vivaldi’s Four Seasons). They were invited to read the story first, then listen to the music and see if they could fit both together in their own way, adding to the story as they went based on what they were reading, the illustrations they were looking at and the music they could hear.
My role was to select two key moments and illustrate them to help bring the story to life and in doing so hopefully spark ideas and imagination as the child and carer were reading together. I illustrated these pictures using pencil, ink and colour.
London Mums magazine is the official publication of London Mums, the only free and independent peer support group for mums based in London (UK). The support group has over 10,000 full active members (as at May 2010) with members helping each other through the joys and challenges women face with raising their children. The magazine is complimented by its website: www.londonmums.org.uk
The magazine’s reach is large. 30,000 copies are delivered to antenatal / postnatal clinics and hospitals, local libraries, edutainment and leisure centres, nurseries and schools, family friendly shops and businesses across London.
The content is produced by London Mums Ltd and its editorial team focuses on topics and issues of interest to mums and mumpreneurs based in London. It features real mums’ testimonials, high profile family experts and celebrity mums.
Recent celebrities that have been interviewed for the publication include some high profile names, such as :
- Amanda Hamilton, the UK’S most popular television “mum-presenter”, successful mumpreneur and writer, best known for co-hosting BBC food and lifestyle programme “Something for the Weekend”
- Jacquie Beltrao, Sky News presenter
- Emma Forbes, former presenter of BBC children’s show ‘Live & Kicking’, broadcaster, a true London Mum and Mumpreneur
- Some interviews are here.
Having lived in a big city with kids, I know that resources like London Mums are vital for Mums, parents, carers and children. It’s a good, relevant, interesting and colourful magazine – one that you can read at length over a coffee or dip into quickly at any time to get some top tips or useful ideas.
