Really Rather Wild

29/07/2024

🎉 Summer Story Camp is BACK! 🎉 Today was Day One of mine and Let's Create Art Club's writing and art camp, helping 17 budding author/illustrators to create their very own book!

📚🚀 Today was all about getting to know each other, fun and games with mystery item treasure hunts, story arcs, getting our ideas written down and plenty of play! 😅 It's a lot to take in for the first couple of days, before we can get creative with our art and illustration, but the kids were amazing!

We've already heard the start of some incredibly inventive stories and I can't wait to see how they develop throughout the week. Expect bagpipes, capybaras, snakes, mad scientists and, apparently, day-saving farts 😅😬📚🎨😊

23/06/2024

Thank you National Literacy Trust in Swindon 🥰

Do give them a follow if you have/work with children in Swindon, they promote wonderful literacy initiatives and resources as well as giving away lots of free books at various local events! 📚✨❤️

18/06/2024

STORY EXPLORERS! As part of Refugee Week, I'll be co-hosting a free children’s story and craft event with Swindon City of Sanctuary.

Join us after school this Thursday at Swindon Central Library for a story about what 'home' means to us and to design your own mini welcome home (these are VERY cute!) 🏠

This one-off event is an opportunity to share all of our different experiences of living in Swindon, the UK and all across the world. We look forward to seeing new and known faces, everyone is welcome 🧡 Swindon Libraries & Information Service

04/06/2024

🎉 Just a little time capsule post to mark a year of running Story Explorers! 1 year of sharing inclusive books and themed crafts with wonderful kids after school 🥰

What started as a little group of 7 turned into 2 fully booked days a week, special events for the general public (more of these to come!) and a very unexpected brand collaboration ❤️ I absolutely love this part of my small business working week 🥰

🌎 It has never been more important to help raise a critical-thinking, empowered, anti-racist, environmentally conscious and socially aware next generation. The reading of beautifully inclusive books is a wonderful way to plant a seed and I hope that by combining with fun and engaging crafts, those seeds will bed in a little deeper 🌱🌳

Thank you to all the Story Explorer grown-ups who've sent a curious little mind my way, I hope you appreciate my gradual move away from paper plates... they'll be back soon I'm sure 😊

31/05/2024

What a cute little visit to Prospect Hospice book shop yesterday 🥰 Thank you so much to the team for a warm welcome and for all the little readers who gave me some really rather loud roars!

Prospect launch their appeal to highlight the £1million shortfall in funding today, an incredibly daunting time for a service held so dear by so many 💔 Please do keep an eye out for upcoming fundraisers.

Thanks to my new readers whose purchases will make a small but important chip in that funding gap 💚

30/05/2024

✨ TODAY! ✨ Come and join me and Prospect Hospice in the warm and dry for some stories and fantastic fundraising 📚🥰

🐯 We'll be at the Commercial Road store from 2pm where little readers will get involved with a reading of My Mum's a Tiger and Searching for a Roarer ✨ There will be 50% off all the second hand children's books and I'll be signing mine and giving half of all sales to this wonderful charity.

Hope to see some of you there. Attendance is free and no need to book 🥰

22/05/2024

We love Hocus Pocus Play as a family and I love attending events there as an author too. They've sadly been hacked and lost thousands of followers, reviews and years of hard work as a small business. Please go and give their new page a like and follow ❤️

Hocus Pocus, Hubble Bubble...oh dear Facebook, you've caused some trouble 😭💔

It's business as usual, but we've lost thousands of followers, years of reviews and a lot of small business hard work. Please do give us a follow and share as we start again ❤️

21/05/2024

📖FREE HALF-TERM EVENT📖

💚 Hello! I'm so pleased to be able to support the wonderful Prospect Hospice with their Pages for Prospect children's sponsored read event next week.

I'll be heading to Prospect's Commercial Road book shop on Thursday 30th May at 2pm to read my books, browse their treasure trove of children's books (all with 50% off on the day), and try my luck at their fun fundraisers (who doesn't love a tombola). I'll also be offering signed copies of my books with 50% of all sales being donated to the Hospice.

💚 The end-of-life care that Prospect provide our community costs several million pounds a year, and with 3/4 of that needing to be self-funded, it's vital that we support these fundraising initiatives. I can't wait to bring some storytelling magic to this one! ✨

🥰 You can find out more about the event here: https://www.prospect-hospice.net/events/pages-for-prospect-reading/ though no need to book, just turn up on the day!

02/05/2024

Please join me in supporting this important, peaceful memorial next weekend ❤️🕊️

Swindon families are coming together to create a powerful visual tribute to the children killed in the Israel-Gaza conflict later this month. The peaceful installation, taking place outside Justin …

30/03/2024

👏🏼 Congratulations to Wiltshire Treehouse on a fantastic fundraiser today! It was so lovely to see Town Gardens buzzing in the sunshine, lots of happy families and I'm sure lots of money raised to help support bereaved children and young people ❤️

We brought an extra splash of colour to the bandstand with a Searching for a Roarer story egg hunt, thanks to all the families who joined the fun ☀️🌈✨🦁

30/03/2024

☀️ Good Morning! Today is Wiltshire Treehouse's annual Egg Trail in Town Gardens 🐣 I'll be in the bandstand 11-12 with an egg-stra special reading of Searching for a Roarer and we'll make Aurora Eggs while materials last!

Wiltshire Treehouse are an essential children's bereavement charity that I've been involved with for 9 years now, a cause very close to my ❤️.

Come and join the trail between 10am and 2pm, tickets are £4 and every child gets an Easter egg 🥰

08/02/2024

🐯 HALF-TERM EVENT! 🐯 Come and get WILD with me and The Boho Bakery on Friday 16th Feb at their splendid Safari Tea Party! 🌿🍰

Based just outside Stroud, this gorgeous Cotswold cafe are throwing a children's tea party and they've invited me along for some My Mum's a Tiger antics! 🧡 I'll be reading my book plus leading a roar-some craft and activity, while they serve up a safari-themed spread for mini adventures - all included in the ticket price! Grown-ups and Under 1s go FREE!

🐯 Find out more and book tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/607751

Hope to see some of you there 🥰

01/02/2024

Wow! It's been less than a week since Let's Create Art Club and I announced the details for this year's Summer Story Camp and we now have ONLY 1 space remaining 🥹🥰

I absolutely cannot wait to do all this again, just 179 days to go, Class of '24! 😂📚🎨

Who will snap up the last spot 🤔 Find out more: https://www.letscreateartclub.co.uk/service-page/story-camp-1?referral=service_list_widget

29/01/2024

EDIT: Now fully booked, SORRY that was quick 😅😘

🔎 Hello! Some of you may know that I'm lucky enough to run a club called Story Explorers and sometimes I get to take it out in the wild! Our next adventure will be at Wyvern Theatre on Thursday 15th February (half-term).

The morning session is already fully booked, but there are some spaces in the 12noon session!

🦁 Best for kids 5 and under, come and woof, hiss and ROAR along with an interactive storytelling, before getting stuck into some animal spotting and a themed craft.

🎟️ Find out more and book at: https://trafalgartickets.com/wyvern-theatre-swindon/en-GB/event/other/dear-zoo-story-explorers-workshop-tickets

26/01/2024

📚🎨 After the excitement of last year's Summer Story Camp, I'm thrilled to be collaborating with Let's Create Art Club once again and we are NOW open to applications for the Class of 2024!

✨ Book Now: https://www.letscreateartclub.co.uk/service-page/story-camp ✨

We put the word out to our priority list last night and there are now only 7 spaces left, eek! So please don't delay if your child/ren would like to join us for this fab experience...we don't think these spaces will hang around long 😅

🤔 Never 'eard of it? Summer Story Camp is an 8-day holiday club where children learn how to write and illustrate their own book, culminating with a launch and printed book collection at Waterstones Swindon 🤩 (Something that only took me 3 years, no biggie 😝). That plus fun, games, making new friends and much-needed fresh air and outdoor time 🌿

Story Camp was a highlight of my year last year and I can't wait to do it all again with the Class of 2024! ☀️📚🎨

16/12/2023

⏳ My last event of the year today! Come and shop from wonderful small businesses and hear me read Every Star a Story WITH SANTA! 🎅🏻

Can't wait 🥰

12/12/2023

You know in Friends when Phoebe proves to Joey that there's no such thing as a true good deed? Yeah, posting this feels a bit like that 😂😬

Tiny But Mighty Swindon are a grassroots charity local to me in Swindon, they do amazing work to support families who have babies in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Units) and I was keen to support them when they started out, as a way to give back to the hospital that looked after me, baby E and our high risk end of pregnancy and birth (though thankfully not requiring NICU 🙏🏻)

Having a baby or child in hospital at any time, but especially Christmas, must be a really tough and uprooting time, so I hope that these books will offer some comfort and distraction to older siblings as part of a wider Christmas gift box that Chloe and her team have put together.

We are so, so lucky to have the NHS and safe hospitals 💙 and our community is lucky to have a charity like Tiny But Mighty ✨

30/11/2023

🎉 1 DAY TO GO! In amongst the Every Star a Story project, I've also had the pleasure of working on a brand-new immersive story for Hocus Pocus Play and the mini e-book will start to be sent out tomorrow!

🎅 Santa's Sleigh Adventure is a gorgeous little Christmas experience in the heart of the Cotswolds, though the adventure begins at home where families can snuggle up and read my story together, before coming along and literally stepping into the story to help finish it and save Santa's Sleigh!

It was really fun to base a story around an existing business, a small, family-run business that I'm a huge fan of. I'd love to do more of this in the future, so watch this space! 📚

Tickets for the experience are now limited but there is some weekday availability (inc. school holidays!) There's an early bird offer for 4 tickets for £45 but that ENDS TODAY, eek. So be quick if you want the best prices. You can find info and book here: https://www.hocuspocusplay.co.uk/store/santas-sleigh-adventure-2023/

📍 Hocus Pocus Play is just outside Fairford and a really gorgeous visit for children up to around 7. I highly recommend, whether part of my story experience or not! ✨

29/11/2023

🌟 EXCITING! 🌟 This new story of mine is ALL about sharing stories with family, friends and community. The idea that every time we share a new story, we help brighten a star 🌟 SO, I'm really happy to be sharing it, for free, as a new story walk through my favourite local park - Town Gardens in Old Town, Swindon.

🌿 Thanks to Old Town and Badbury Park Libraries Swindon and South Swindon Parish Council, Every Star a Story will be accessible throughout December. The library have ALSO put together a Star Hunt to run through the Enchanted Gardens Light Trail, where visitors can search out stars along the magical route and fill in an entry form to win an Every Star a Story prize bundle 🥰

📷 If you read the story on your next stroll through Town Gardens, I would LOVE to see your photos, especially with Angela Mayers Illustration's adorable Santa - please share and tag! 🎅

🎁 The story comes as part of a storytelling gift set which includes story prompts, crafts, illustrated notecards and other cute Christmassy bits. These are now super limited but you can find them on my website here: https://www.reallyratherwild.com/product-page/every-star-a-story-storyteller-cards

I hope you enjoy a wintery, story-themed stroll through the park soon 🥰🌟❄️🎄🌿

26/11/2023

Faringdon! That was so special 🥹🌟 Thank you so much to all 200+ of you who braved the weather to come and celebrate stars and stories with us at Faringdon Folly Tower and woodland ✨

Every Star a Story is all about the power of stories and how our imaginations keep the stars shining bright. It was an absolute honour to read this new tale with you and to end with the lighting of your very own star was a moment I won't forget 😍🌟

I didn't get to try those delicious cakes, but the mulled wine warmed my hands a treat and I LOVED seeing all the children's crafts and story creations - well done to all the wonderful volunteers.

I hope you enjoyed the event and remember, keep creating new stories and you'll light a new star of your own!

🌟🌟🌟

26/11/2023

TONIGHT! Things to know:

🌟 FREE event, no need to book

☂️ Bring a brolly and a torch

🌲 There will be extra woodchip down, tree shelter and gazebo shelter for some of the craft activities

🍫 You can keep warm with hot cocoa and hot apple! Organisers will be taking card payments

📚 I'll have signed books and a limited amount of Every Star a Story sets

I hope to see some of you there, despite the weather 😂 Faringdon Folly Tower and woodland have organised something really special and I can't wait to help them switch on their brand new star with the magic of storytelling!

23/11/2023

I've had a sneak peek at the set-up for this and it's going to be pure twinkly magic! Faringdon Folly Tower and woodland sure know how to put on a unique event 😍 Wrap up warm and bring your torch, I can't wait to enjoy this with you! ✨🌟🎄

This weekend, join us to hear award winning children’s author Kate Claxton Really Rather Wild read her amazing new mini story and see the NEW Folly star light up for the first time.

This is an all weather event so please wear suitable footwear and warm clothes. There will be refreshments to buy and of course Kate will be selling her story packs and other books.

17/11/2023

🍉❤️

Tomorrow in the Hub, join Swindon Palestine Solidarity upstairs from 3pm - 5pm for a discussion on Palestine- its history and its present.

Come and meet Swindonian Palestinians - hear their stories.

Tell us how you are feeling with all this turmoil.

Let’s have a dialogue.

Sarah Newman will talk about why she is supporting ceasefire, ending the siege.

Pete Dilly talking a little about his Jewish heritage and his pro Palestinian stance.

Repi Begum Will give a brief history of the region too

There will be some food - we will be taking donations and raise for Medical Aid for Palestinians

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/discuss-palestine-discussion-with-swindonian-palestinians-and-others-tickets-758913750457

13/11/2023

👀 A sneak peek at some of the secrets behind the scenes as we get ready for Santa's Sleigh Adventure ✨ An absolute pleasure to be working together with Hocus Pocus Play on this magical Christmas experience!

Find out more at: https://www.hocuspocusplay.co.uk/store/santas-sleigh-adventure-2023/

09/11/2023

🌟 Very excited to share this! The Folly Tower is steeped in storytelling history and the beautiful new storytelling chair is just perfect for a winter reading like this. ❄️

This will be my first time reading Every Star a Story, which fits magically with something special set to happen as the story comes to a close...✨🌟

Dress up warm and come and join us for hot chocolate, starlight and the magic of storytelling 🥰

🎨 Featured illustration by Angela Mayers Illustration, from Every Star a Story. Find out more about this new story and our gift range at: https://www.reallyratherwild.com/books

We are really excited that Kate Claxton Really Rather Wild will be reading her new winter tale, Every Star a Story from the new Folly storytelling chair. And who knows if we tell enough stories a very special star on the top of the folly may just light up. Join us for this free event 26th November 2023 5-6pm.

This is an outdoor event so please wear suitable clothing and as it will be dark bring a torch to light your way.

There will be hot chocolate, story writing, crafts and a chance to meet Kate and purchase her books / Every Star a Story pack.

https://www.reallyratherwild.com

05/11/2023

Ahhhh you guys are the best! Thank you SO much for your incredible reaction to mine and Angela Mayers Illustration's new story and gifts! I've had to order a second batch from the printers 🥹

We had a great day at Shop Small in Old Town yesterday, I'll be at Swindie Makers Market on the 18th but if you're not local you can order for postal delivery (they fit through the letterbox too 👌) Very exciting to see the parcels are starting to drop in the post!

I'll share a bit more about the story this week 🌟✨❄️

🌟 Every Star a Story: https://www.reallyratherwild.com/books

02/11/2023

🌟OUT NOW🌟 A little secret story drop from Angela Mayers Illustration and I 🥰 Introducing...Every Star a Story.

📚 Every Star a Story is a NEW winter tale from me, a story of magical night skies and the power of storytelling. Presented in the form of a minibook, the story comes alongside a gorgeous set of storytelling activity cards, an art print, or a Christmas card.

🎨 With 2 original artworks from Angela, Every Star a Story aims to inspire children and their families to tell more stories, sharing them with friends, family, neighbours and communities. I hope it sparks a new tradition and I can't wait to build on the magic year on year.

I think the activity cards might be the star of the show, here's what's included:

🌟 Every Star a Story minibook
✨ 10 Illustrated story prompts
🌟 4 Themed craft activities
✨ 4 Memory making activities
🌟 2 art prints
✨ 10 notecards to share your own stories or pictures

🎨 The A4 prints will make a gorgeous addition to winter room decor and also come with a minibook.

✒️ The A5 Christmas cards, which also come with a minibook, encourage the sender to write their own story or personalised memory with the recipient. All will become clear as to why, when you read the minibook ❤️

I'm so proud of these pieces, I hope you love them as much as Angela and I. A limited amount of them are available on my website now, there's the option to collect from my upcoming events and markets too ✨🌟 Let us know what you think!

Order now: https://www.reallyratherwild.com/books

23/10/2023

🍎 What a fun day of Story Exploring, thanks to Wyvern Theatre for inviting me down to their annual Family Fun Day and countdown to panto season!
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We explored a twist to the classic tale, with a reading of the brilliant Snow White in Space, before making our very own spaceships and night skies for them to zooooom across 🛸
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Silly antics came from BGT and panto star Paul Burling and Totally Crazy, which the children LOVED!
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Thanks to all the little Story Explorers who came along to the two busy sessions, I hope the new owners of My Mum's a Tiger and Searching for a Roarer enjoy their new bedtime stories 🥰
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I love helping businesses engage with their family audiences and customers through the magic of stories, get in touch if I can help you ✨
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If you're within reach of Swindon, the Wyvern Theatre pantomime production of Snow White looks like it's going to as brilliant as ever (oh no it doesn't, oh yes it does etc etc etc) go check them out for ticket info 🎟️

22/10/2023

👋 I'll be at Wyvern Theatre FREE Family Fun Day tomorrow, helping them get excited for panto season with Snow White storytimes and crafts!

🍎 I believe my sessions are fully booked, but there's loads more going on with drama workshops, a bake sale, art activities, entertainment from Totally Crazy and a special appearance from Britain's Got Talent and Snow White star, Paul Burling.

You can find out all the info at: https://trafalgartickets.com/wyvern-theatre-swindon/en-GB/whats-on

02/10/2023

I'm SO excited to be making the Hocus Pocus Play Christmas experience even more magical with their own bespoke story! Santa's Sleigh Adventure, written by me, will be sent to all visitors in advance of their visit and allow families to literally step into the story and complete the ending by finding missing pieces, adding to the magic and SAVING SANTA'S SLEIGH!

Tickets are selling very quickly, with weekends now very limited. If you're local to the Cotswolds and have children aged 1-7 (though all are welcome), I think you might love it 🥰

Find out more: https://www.hocuspocusplay.co.uk/store/santas-sleigh-adventure-2023/