Storytelling at Bristol Children's Hospital

Life in hospital can be really tough. Thankfully Arts Unleashed is on hand to provide some much-needed light relief from treatment.

Last month, in conjunction with Bristol’s first-ever ‘Storytale Festival,’ creative duo Wilf and Paula took a trip to Bristol Children’s Hospital. Aiming to spark some imagination and bring the festival to children unable to attend, storyteller Wilf encouraged patients to write down or recite their very own tale while artist Paula created the illustrations.

From dragons to Harry Potter to pandas, patients certainly came up with a colourful cast of characters! To celebrate their creativity and originality, award-winning children’s writer Tracey Corderoy visited the Activities Centre at the children’s hospital to meet some of the talented young authors and judge their entries.

Tracey is well known for her popular ‘Shift McGifty and Slippery Sam’ picture books and young ﬁction. Aside from a reading of some of her own stories, Tracey treated patients to some arts and crafts before choosing a winner.

After much deliberation, a winning story was announced – penned by 13-year-old Siona! Big congratulations to Siona and all of the other wonderful patients. All the entries received a smashing selection of prizes as well as a certiﬁcate from Storytale Festival. Meanwhile, Siona also won a book token and books donated by Tracey.

We’d like to thank Tracey, Max Minerva’s Bookshop, Niche Frames, and Roots Floral Designs for helping us bring something a little different to Bristol Children’s Hospital! As ever, we’re delighted to work in partnership with the hospital to create an engaging and immersive arts programme for its patients.