Another February Poem
Hillside Narcissus by Nora McFarlane “There’s a grassy slope not far away Where thousands of Narcissus bloom, And I catch my breath, as I… Continue reading
Category: LitraQuest
Good books can be dangerous & good ideas contagious !
In a world fixated by online and screen based activities it is refreshing to remember just how revolutionary and dangerous the good old fashioned book was … and still can… Continue reading
Arbus Magicus Selects Stories
Litrasaurus is a privately funded charitable endeavour whose aim is to encourage and develop imagination and creativity in the young, and young at heart, by the reading, writing, and sharing… Continue reading
Boredom is essential for developing children’s imaginations
This year marked the 135th anniversary of the birth of A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh. This enigmatic, and slightly dishevelled, bear still holds a treasured place at the heart… Continue reading
Beanstalk – lighting the fire of literacy in children
The ability to read well is so fundamental to success of any kind, yet too many children in this country, through no fault of their own, are held back by… Continue reading
January Poem
Winter by Walter de la Mare Clouded with snow The cold winds blow, And shrill on leafless bough The robin with its burning breast Alone sings now. The rayless sun,… Continue reading
Stories in Song
At a ceremony tonight in Stockholm Bob Dylan will formally be presented as this year’s laureate for the Nobel Prize for Literature – being famously shy he will not be… Continue reading
Children are the same … it’s parents that are different
According to the National Literacy Trust the number of children reading for pleasure every day in the UK fell by 25% between 2005 and 2012 to less than one in… Continue reading
Christmas Stories
Stories are as old as humankind itself and they are integral to every part of our lives, so much so that they resonate with our very being. They draw us… Continue reading
Reading Is Powerful
Human beings nowadays really do not appreciate just how integral stories and reading are to their very being. Reading has developed from myths and legends being told around the fireside… Continue reading
Stories don’t just surround us they are inside us
“Whenever I’m asked what advice I have for young writers, I always say that the first thing is to read, and to read a lot. The second thing is to… Continue reading
Put Yourself In Their Shoes
Stories have been an essential part of human life longer than recorded time. In the days before books stories were told around the fire and were not just entertainment but… Continue reading
“The defect of our modern institutions is that they do not speak to the imagination”
Napoleon once said “Imagination rules the world”. Many people only know this part of the quote, but he actually went on to say “The defect of our modern institutions is… Continue reading
November Poem
“Come, little leaves,” said the wind one day, “Come over the meadows with me, and play; Put on your dresses of red and gold; Summer is gone, and the days… Continue reading
Developing Empathy
The great US President Theodore Roosevelt once said: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care”. More recently Barack Obama said in 2006: “There’s… Continue reading
The Empathy Deficit
Empathy is a relatively modern concept, indeed it had not even been ‘invented’ as a concept when Shelley wrote this great statement effectively defining it: “A man, to be greatly… Continue reading
Libraries are essential for our children and our future
The great philanthropists of the early 20th Century invested heavily in libraries (Carnegie alone built a total of 2,509 libraries around the world between1883 and 1929). This was not an… Continue reading
Writing Stories is just like Daydreaming … and it’s good for you !
The recent anniversary of Edgar Allen Poe’s death brings to mind this great quote of his: “They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who… Continue reading
Children are our future – we must inspire them
“Children are our future” the song goes. Indeed they are and nothing is more important than developing their imagination and creativity. “Individuals make the future, and they do it by… Continue reading
Imagination is just the start
Poet and novelist Ben Okri was born in 1959 in Minna, northern Nigeria, to an Igbo mother and Urhobo father. He started by writing poetry but moved on to write… Continue reading
Imagination Makes a World of Difference
Creativity is developed when you are young. As David Walliams recently said: “I had a very happy childhood, but I wasn’t that happy a child. I liked being alone and… Continue reading
Imagination Gives You Wings
Muhammad Ali once said “A man who has no imagination has no wings”. There is a great truth in that quote because, as is often said, imagination can take you… Continue reading
Featured Story – “The Underwater City” by Mariana Gordan
This month’s featured story on Litrasaurus, as picked by Arbus Magicus, is “The Underwater City” by Mariana Gordan. CLICK HERE TO READ IT Mariana Gordan is a visual artist, writer… Continue reading
October Poem
October by Robert Frost O hushed October morning mild, Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild, Should waste them all. The crows above the… Continue reading
September’s Poem
The golden-rod is yellow; The corn is turning brown; The trees in apple orchards With fruit are bending down. The gentian’s bluest fringes Are curling in the sun; In dusty… Continue reading
August’s Poem
‘Tis moonlight, summer moonlight, All soft and still and fair; The solemn hour of midnight Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere, But most where trees are sending Their breezy boughs on high,… Continue reading
July’s Poem
This month’s poem is by Walter De La Mare and is called, appropriately, “Summer Evening” The sandy cat by the Farmer’s chair Mews at his knee for dainty fare;… Continue reading
June’s Poem
This month’s poem is “Bed in Summer” by Robert Louis Stephenson In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light. In summer quite the other way,… Continue reading
May’s Poem
Song On A May Morning “Now the bright morning star, day’s harbinger, Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her The flowery May, who from her green lap throws… Continue reading
April’s Poem
“And Spring arose on the garden fair, Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere; And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast rose from the dreams of its wintry… Continue reading
World Poetry Day
“A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds” This wonderful quote is by the great poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. … Continue reading
Do schools kill creativity?
This is an amazing TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson, in which he makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines)… Continue reading
Golden Thread
Litrasaurus is proud to be part of ArtsRichmond who are this year celebrating their 50th anniversary. There is an exhibition taking place (running from Thursday 10th March to Sunday 24… Continue reading
A Thought For Valentine’s Day
“A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” This is a quote from the Wizard of Oz… Continue reading
Poetry Too !
Litrasaurus encourages all forms of creative and imaginative writing so we are also delighted to help people share poems as well as stories. Indeed, we already have a number of… Continue reading
Everything Changes When We Read – Gaiman
Neil Gaiman has a way with words … not just when he writes books but also when he speaks passionately about subjects close to his heart, and, I would suggest,… Continue reading
More Guest Authors
Litrasaurus is delighted to have Guest Authors submitting stories to us. We were blown away by Frank Cottrell Boyce sharing a story with us, but in every way as special… Continue reading
“Children need books, not screens”
Many congratulations to Shirley Hughes who has become the first recipient of the Book Trust Lifetime Achievement Award. Interviewed today in the Daily Telegraph (Click here for the full article) … Continue reading
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall “stories help us to understand our world and the people in it”
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall gave a speech at the final of the BBC 500 Words Competition this last week in which she shared a wonderful insight into… Continue reading
Congratulations BBC 500 Words Story Writers
Many congratulations to absolutely everyone who submitted a story to the BBC 500 Words competition this year. A record 120,421 entries were received,which means, all together, over 60 million words!… Continue reading
