Storytime: The Jolly Witch

Year: 1990
Author: Dick King-Smith
Illustrator: Frank Rodgers

Mrs Jolly was the school caretaker. She had a short nose and two, comfy round chins and curly brown hair, going grey.

Mrs Jolly had a ginger cat. Mrs Jolly was friendly, nice and cuddly.

But there was something the headmistress didn’t know. Or the other teachers. Or the children.

In the Autumn term when Mrs Jolly swept the playground clear of leaves with a broomstick, even then, nobody guessed that she was… a witch!

At the end of school each day when everyone had gone home, Mrs Jolly, the caretaker became Mrs Jolly, the witch.

This was the time when she used her magic powers, though she looked just the same. Friendly and cuddly.

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Storytime: Duncan’s Tree House

Year: 1992
Author: Amanda Vesey
Illustrator: Amanda Vesey

On his birthday, Duncan’s parents gave him a tree house.

Duncan’s father was a builder. He had made the tree house in his workshop and he had fixed it to the tree the night before Duncan’s birthday, when Duncan was asleep.

It was a complete surprise to Duncan.

Inside the tree house was a camp bed and a rug and a table and a chair and a shelf with cups and plates on it. There was a bookcase and a tin box for keeping things in. The window had real glass in it, and opened and shut.

Duncan leaned out of the window and waved to his parents in the garden below.

‘Thank you!’ yelled Duncan.

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Storytime: Big City Kitty

Year: 2016
Author: Susie Linn
Illustrator: Lindsay Dale

Kitty the cat was all alone in the city. It was big and noisy – and she was small and quiet.

Kitty hadn’t always been alone. Once, she had lived happily, with a family. But then came the day of the ENORMOUS fright!

Kitty became so scared that she ran and ran and ran… far away, into the big city.

So here she was… alone, quiet, afraid… and lost!

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Storytime: Tiny Whale

Year: 2015
Author: Joshua George
Illustrator: Puy Pinillos

Gerald had so many brothers, sisters and cousins, that he felt quite unimportant. His dad hardly ever took him to play in the seaweed forest. His mum hardly ever read him stories. Even his best friend Gordon didn’t remember his name.

‘Hi Gordon!’
‘Hi Gavin!’

‘Unbelievable,’ thought Gerald. ‘I look completely different to Gavin.’

Gerald was tired of being a small orange fish on a reef full of other small orange fish.

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Storytime: What the Ladybird Heard Next

Year: 2015
Author: Julia Donaldson
Illustrator: Lydia Monks

Once upon a farm lived a ladybird,
And these are the things that she saw and heard:

The cow in her shed, the horse in his stall,
The cats who purred on the garden wall,
The barn full of straw, the field full of sheep,
The kennel where the dog lay fast asleep,
The fish in the pond, the drake and the duck,
The hive of bees and the heap of muck,
The hog in his sty, the goose in her pen,
And the coop which was home to the fat red hen.

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