On Friday morning 12th June, Simone Schummelfeder, a young and exciting storyteller from Hamburg in Germany came to the Library in Woodford (with assistance from ED Ballinasloe/Ballinasloe Library) and made a presentation to students (8 and 9 year olds) from the surrounding schools of Derryober, Drim and Woodford.Simone first read the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and then she got the children to build a story themselves, helping them to understand such things as character, plot, action and how a story evolves.
Situated right in the heart of Woodford, the library is a space (shared with the Credit Union) which is alive, well-kept, and looks well. In this small town/village, anyone can come in and find the world, both through the stock of library books and materials, and through the various informal education events which are held here.
Opportunities for children in a rural area such as Woodford to engage with a young foreign story-teller/performer are few and far between. It is especially important for children from poorer families whose parents cannot afford to take them and pay to such events in larger centres of population.
That Friday morning event in Woodford, as well as helping to nurture literacy and literary skills, was surely a nourishing experience for each child’s imagination and creativity.
More importantly, as we all know from our own childhood experiences, the memory of an event like that in one’s local area will live, and be of consequence, in a child’s mind long into adulthood. For every child it is something special that books are alive and even magic is afoot in Woodford - a service that is more important than ever during the negativity of an economic downturn.
This event was part of this years Three Rivers Storytelling Festival which is now in its second year. The festival is midlands based and takes in the East Galway libraries of ED Ballinasloe/Ballinasloe, Portumna, Loughrea, Eyrecourt, Killimor and Woodford
