You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Celebrities including actor Rupert Everett [pictured] will read to children in London’s Trafalgar Square next month as part of an event to inspire children to read.
Rupert Everett will read an Oscar Wilde fairytale, the cast of Billy Elliot The Musical will perform Electricity, readings will be given from Mark Haddon’s book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and Joey, the star of National Theatre’s West End production of War Horse based on the title by Michael Morpurgo, will make an appearance at the free event on 13th July.
The ‘festival’ is part of the London Evening Standard’s Get Reading campaign and is backed by Barnes & Noble’s Nook arm. It will also feature famous authors and celebrity storytellers helping children to take part in a giant read-a-thon.
As part of the campaign, Nook has agreed to give away free classic children’s e-books on new Nook devices and the Nook reading app, including The Wind in the Willows, Great Expectations and The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Jim Hilt, managing director of B&N, said: “Barnes & Noble is committed to making reading more accessible and fun for kids in the UK and partnering with top West End shows is a great way to encourage literacy in children.”
Lee Hall, writer of Billy Elliot The Musical, added that reading was “key” to helping children achieve their potential. "I have huge admiration for what this campaign is trying to achieve for children's literacy,” he said.
The Trafalgar Square festival was announced last month and backed by London’s mayor Boris Johnson.