It’s our favourite time of the month because it’s new issue time! Storytime Issue 46 is even more cosmically awesome than usual, as it features a party-loving alien from Out of this World – a new story written by Christine Kelly. There’s also a fun fairy tale, a Japanese legend, a story from the Amazon rainforest, wonderful poems, an old folk tale and a fable. Plus we have the usual mix of activities, puzzles, colouring and a game. Find out more about Storytime Issue 46 and its talented contributors here…

Inside Storytime Issue 46

Writer Christine Kelly returns to Storytime Issue 46 with a brand new story about a little girl whose best friend just happens to be an alien from the Planet Zog. Is she real or a figment of her imagination? Everyone’s about to find out at her birthday party. In addition, we welcome back illustrator Vicky Amrullah, who provided the bright and cheerful artwork for this story and our cover. (Vicky previously illustrated the poem Eletelephony in Storytime Issue 34.)

The Tailor’s New Coat is an old Jewish folk tale with variants all over the world. It’s a really clever story with a surprise ending that will give you all something to think about. The gorgeous illustrations come courtesy of Forrest Burdett. The last two pages are especially magical.

Our first poem of Storytime Issue 46 is by Laurence Alma-Tadema (not the famous Dutch painter, but his daughter). It explores the whimsical world of Playgrounds through the eyes of a child. What’s your favourite playground? This is a good poem to begin a discussion about looking closely at the world around you, using your imagination and finding the magic in everyday places. We love the creativity in the illustrations by Ana Sanfelippo.

This issue’s fable follows the exploits of The Famous Firefly as she tries to widen the audience for her impressive light show. As with most fables, things don’t go quite to plan and she learns a valuable lesson. Can you guess what it is by looking at the pictures? This is a good technique to try with developing readers.Cn they tell the story in their own words before you read it to them? Did they guess right? Our super-colourful illustrations are by Chorkung.

We’re really excited to bring you another fairy tale that tells the story behind a famous fictional character. In Storytime Issue 46, it’s the nursery rhyme favourite Old Mother Goose. (In Storytime Issue 44, we had Hey Diddle Diddle.) We’ve put together a fantastic Teaching Resource Pack to go with this story, which all schools and home schooling subscribers can get for free. Find out more on our Storytime For Schools site. The wonderful illustrations are by Marine Cazaux, who had great fun creating Mother Goose flying away on the back of her gander.

Alphabet Zoo fans will be delighted to see the artwork of Tim Budgen again for our one-off poem, Alphabet Ocean. This time, we dive into the deep blue sea to meet animals ranging from anemones to the zebra turkeyfish! To make sure you’ve spotted all the animals in our underwater A to Z, download our Alphabet Ocean posters here. Look out for more of Tim’s work in our October 2018 Storytime issue.

We love a Japanese legend here and Storytime Issue 46’s doesn’t disappoint. It stars a stormy god who takes on a fearsome, people-munching Eight-Headed Dragon – with a little help from a famous Japanese drink. Illustrator Bao Luu has done a brilliant job of bringing this legendary hero and his enemy to life.

Our last story transports you to South America, where you can experience The Magic of the Rainforest when a young girl loses her way. It features monkeys, a jaguar god and a magical blue morpho butterfly. It’s the perfect starting point for learning more about this spectacular part of the planet. Nathanna Érica is responsible for the lovely illustrations. Do have a look at her website – it is stunning.

Why You Need Storytime!

As ever, we’re tried to give you a great mix of stories from all over the world. There are six in this issue and two poems, and the more issues you collect, the bigger and better your library of stories will become. In fact, you could probably boast you own the best stories in the universe! Furthermore, you can come back to them again and again, because we print every Storytime issue on high-quality paper. Plus Storytime is a tried and trusted way to improve your child’s reading skills – we’ll be blogging about that soon! If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so here and become part of a passionate army of worldwide readers or you can pick up Storytime Issue 46 from our Back Issue Shop.

We hope you think Storytime Issue 46 is as out of this world as we do. What are your favourite stories or illustrations? Are there any stories or poems you would like to see in Storytime? Is there anything you’d like to see more of? We value your feedback, so let us know via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
 

Let your imagination fly this month,
 

(Storytime Ed.)

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