The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour brought a carnival-themed festival to Edinburgh Children’s Hospital on Sunday 31 July.
Bestselling author Lari Don told stories of Neringa and the Sea Dragon and Nana Miriam and the Hippo from her magical collection Fierce, Fearless and Free: Girls in Myths and Legends from Around the World, illustrated by Eilidh Muldoon.
There were also opportunities for the children to get involved with story-making exercises.
The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour is supported by Scottish Friendly and organised by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing.
During the pandemic, the tour has been delivered virtually throughout classrooms in Scotland, with educational watch on demand video content viewed over 100,000 times.
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust said: “Bringing stories to young people in hospital is so important: it can inspire imaginations and improve wellbeing.
“Scottish Book Trust is delighted that the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour returned to Edinburgh Children’s Hospital for a fun-packed festival. Lari Don is a wonderful storyteller and we know the young people and their families will have enjoyed her fantastic tales.”
Fiona O’Sullivan, Director of Children’s Wellbeing at Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Storytelling is so powerful; being transported to another time, place or galaxy can be so brilliantly beneficial for children when they are unwell.
“It was wonderful to welcome Scottish Book Trust back to the hospital in person. Their stories brought fun and distraction to children and young people and filled the wards and waiting areas with lots of smiles and laughter!”
Lari Don is a children’s writer, brought up in the North East of Scotland, now living in Edinburgh.
She has written adventure novels, picture books and collections of myths and legends; most of her books are inspired by her love of traditional tales and Scotland’s landscape.
Lari is currently having to learn how to create and share stories around the limitations of long covid.
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