EMMA THOMPSON OPENS PETER RABBIT LIBRARY
AND CALLS TO MAKE THE EVERYDAY SPECTACULAR WITH A BOOK
Monday 29th September 2014 … On the eve of publication of her brand new Peter Rabbit adventure, The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit, published by Frederick Warne 2nd October 2014, Emma Thompson opens a stunning Peter Rabbit themed space for young people to curl up with a book. The magical Peter Rabbit children’s section was created and donated by the book’s publisher Frederick Warne, who worked with reading charity Booktrust to transform Gorton Library in east Manchester. Frederick Warne is also donating more than £1,000s worth of children’s books.
Promoting the positive impact a joy of reading can have on children’s lives, Oscar-winning actor and writer, Emma Thompson said, ‘For those of us lucky enough to have been read to as children, to have had access to books and libraries and to have had a love of reading engrained in us, we each have a spectacular tale we can refer to which inspired a lifelong love of books. Every child should have a spectacular tale in their life that can start them on their reading journey and get them off to a flying start in life.
Peter Rabbit certainly had a big impact on me as a child and I’m thrilled to be opening the Peter Rabbit library in Gorton today. I hope the local community will enjoy the space and the books and use it to transform lives.’
Editorial Director at Frederick Warne, Jo Hanks, said, ‘The transformative powers of reading are undeniable. We also know the role Beatrix Potter’s wonderful creation, Peter Rabbit, has played in inspiring a love of reading among millions of readers worldwide. That’s why we’ve created and donated this beautiful Peter Rabbit library and hope in doing so we can contribute to making books as exciting and as attractive a proposition to as many children in the Manchester region as possible.
We are delighted to have worked with reading charity, Booktrust, who not only change lives every day with their work, but have been invaluable in helping us to find Gorton Library as the deserving recipient of our donation.’
Viv Bird, CEO of Booktrust, adds, ‘Manchester has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country and the new Peter Rabbit library provides a wonderful opportunity to get more children and families interested in reading, which is priceless. Children must not miss out on the fun, joy, as well as life-changing benefits that reading can bring. Reading together strengthens family bonds and helps children do better at school, whatever the family background. We know that children who are read to every day will be almost 12 months ahead of their age group when they start school. Even reading to them two or three times a week gives them a six-month head-start.’
Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, Councillor Rosa Battle, said, ‘We'd like to thank Frederick Warne and Booktrust for working with us to provide this wonderful new reading resource for families in east Manchester. Books help to give children the best possible start in life and the Peter Rabbit library will be an invaluable space for children and their parents to enjoy together.’
Following on from the success of The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit in 2012 (the first new Peter Rabbit title since Beatrix Potter’s final tale in 1930) and The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit in 2013, Emma Thompson triumphs once more with The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit.
‘It was high summer and a travelling fun-fair had come to the village … Peter Rabbit and Benjamin were forbidden to attend…’
But even the best-behaved rabbit can’t resist a fun-fair – and Peter is far from being the best-behaved rabbit. With Benjamin at his side, Peter sneaks into the fair where a roller-coaster ride of an adventure begins…
Twitter: #Spectaculartale
No comments:
Post a Comment