Tales of the Queen chasing her hat across London and a little boy rescuing a beached whale were the order of the day at Discover in Stratford, London, as the storytelling centre hosted a special event for Oscar’s Book Prize.
Benji Davies and Steve Antony, the winners of Oscar’s Book Prize to date, read from their prize-winning books The Storm Whale and The Queen’s Hat, respectively, and told the enraptured audience (and their parents) about the inspiration behind their work.
The author-illustrators also worked side-by-side in a live painting session. With the help of Discover’s story-building staff, young visitors were encouraged to provide inspiration for a wall mural. Thanks to the children’s limitless imagination, it included everything from flying corgis and an ice-cream eating octopus to a water-skiing Roman and a bag-snatching crab.
Other activities included a marathon story-telling session where the books on the longlist for this year’s Oscar’s Book Prize were read. The shortlist will be revealed later this month in anticipation of the prize winning ceremony on 23 May.