National Reading Event launch

Read On. Get On. turns October half term into a joyful celebration of reading with free family events on 27th and 28th October for children aged 11 years and under

During the half term school holidays on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th October, Save the Children will be inviting families across the capital to its free events at Westfield Stratford City to celebrate all that is magical about reading. Over the course of these two days, a wide range of special guests including the Gruffalo and Winnie the Witch will be popping along to meet young fans.

Compered by Blue Peter favourite, Radzi Chinyanganya, both events will offer lots of fun activities for families with some of the nation’s most famous faces, authors, illustrators and fictional characters hosting ‘Storytelling Sessions’, ‘Poetry with a Bang!’ - the very best in playful spoken word poetry created on the hoof by some of our famous faces and ‘Word Searching’ – a treasure hunt experience where clues and riddles will mean prizes for all children.

Interactive workshops for children of all ages will also be freely available throughout the day including ‘Page Turners’ where a storyteller and illustrator will build a story with the help of the audience’s imagination and ‘Have a Go’ craft sessions. During Face-painting sessions kids can choose to be transformed into one of their favourite characters such as Fantastic Mr Fox or the Gruffalo.