The Hub at South Shore is a charity and community centre in the south of Blackpool that hosts a varied programme of local clubs, essential services and charity support groups, including a baby bank, a toddler group, a lunch club, befriending and bereavement groups, Brownies, Scouts, indoor curling and more.
“We welcome people from aged zero to 100,” says Karen Coope, Centre Manager of The Hub at South Shore. “Our main goal is tackling loneliness and isolation. Many people come here two or three times per week. We’re here for those who need us.”
Unleashing parents’ inner storytellers
In 2024, The Hub at South Shore took part in BookTrust Storytime – BookTrust’s interactive programme that provides specially shortlisted books for children under five and resources that enable both libraries and community partners create their own interactive, memorable storytime experiences for families.
Karen decided to deliver BookTrust Storytime as part of the centre’s weekly toddler group over the course of five weeks, where up to 40 families would attend each time. She also saw an opportunity to get mums more involved.
“I thought, rather than it always being me or volunteers reading the stories, I would invite mums to join in,” says Karen.
“We made a parent committee for BookTrust Storytime, where the mums took turns to each read one of the BookTrust Storytime stories each week.”
The parent committee came up with creative ways to bring each of the BookTrust Storytime books to life, and to make each week feel interactive and fun.
“Each mum spoke to me before their BookTrust Storytime session to talk about ideas they had for their story and talked to me about what they wanted to do,” says Karen. “For example, one mum wanted us to have bubbles during her session, because the character in Zeki Rise and Shine has a bubble bath in the story. She also wanted to use mini individual packs of cereal, so the children could shake them during the storytime when Zeki shakes his.
“And, with Are You A Monster? all the kids wearing glasses and bow ties [like the main character] and we all danced ‘The Monster Mash’.”
Building mums’ confidence to share stories
“We aren’t professional storytellers, and the mums, the volunteers, all of us did really well,” says Karen. “These women didn’t just turn up and read the book. They really learnt each book beforehand, and did all sorts of things with each story.
It was a really good decision to have the parent committee deliver BookTrust Storytime. They were just brilliant.
“One mum was really nervous beforehand, but she was really good at reading the story. Another mum is dyslexic, but she didn’t want to miss out. She took the BookTrust Storytime book home and learnt it. You would never have known that she struggles with reading. She excelled at it, and I know she was really proud of herself.”
Children’s reactions to BookTrust Storytime
“After Week One of BookTrust Storytime, the children were running in and sitting down waiting for the story to start,” says Karen. “It was so good to see how the stories made them interact. There was a lot of laughing. You could see them getting completely swept up in the cheering.
“Even one of the quiet little girls was shouting out during the story because she got really involved in it. I think the kids really enjoyed the interaction they had with their families as much as they did with each other.”
Karen adds: “I remember when we read I Am Happy. There was a boy who, after the story, kept telling people all the reasons he was happy. The story obviously made an impression on him. It just shows the power of a book.”
Bringing BookTrust Storytime fun closer to home
Since delivering BookTrust Storytime, The Hub at South Shore has also gifted out Bookstart Toddler and Bookstart Pre-schooler packs for families to take home and keep. Meanwhile, the BookTrust Storytime resources they received remain at the community centre – along with plenty of happy memories.
“The BookTrust Storytime books were beautiful, and the resources were so professional and really lovely,” says Karen. “We took photos from the sessions, printed them out and stuck them on the memory maker [BookTrust Storytime’s interactive display board for photo opportunities]. The artist group that meets here then painted a tree that looked like the memory maker – and we stuck all the pictures from the BookTrust Storytime sessions on that. We’ve still got all the books, and the new songs to sing together.”
Being able to adapt BookTrust Storytime and host it at The Hub at South Shore created an opportunity for more local families to experience a storytime.
It’s not easy for everyone to get to a library,” says Karen. “A lot of the mums that come here don’t drive, so to set off with a pushchair with more than one child can be a barrier. By having BookTrust Storytime here, it means they’re not missing out.
“If we can introduce people here to stories, and they enjoy it, it leaves a lasting impression and a memory. And it might inspire them to carry on at home. Storytelling will now become a regular part of the structured play we offer here.”
Lizzie Davies, Community Engagement Coordinator for BookTrust in the North, says: “Seeing how Karen and The Hub at South Shore built on the opportunity of the BookTrust Storytime programme to create a Parents Committee, to empower the mums visiting The Hub with their children to create special storytelling sessions for their local community, has been so rewarding.
“Being able to bring the Storytime programme to new settings has allowed us to reach families we might not have done previously, as well as to highlight and connect new families to their local library services, showcasing all the amazing activities and sessions on offer.”
