Step into Stories

We invite you to step into the wonderful world of stories with at Step into Stories.

Our annual one-day festival in April 2024 was packed full of some of the best authors, poets and storytellers in the children’s story world today. We had something for all children aged 0 – 12+, from picture books to poetry, detectives to inventors, story trains to storytellers and even a chance for over 16’s (including adults!) to learn a little about writing and telling stories for children.

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We invite you to make a day of it at future Step into Stories and take part in our story tale trail and go home with a new book with our Big Bewdley Book Swap. We will have a mixture of ticketed and free events so everyone can join in the fun.‍

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Why Come to Our Festival of Stories?‍

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What is the first story you remember really having an impact on you? Chances are it was a children’s story you read, or someone read to you.

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Children’s stories are an incredibly important part of development. They act as both mirrors and windows. We learn more about ourselves through our emotional connections to the characters we read about, but we also learn to develop empathy through making connections with characters who are very different from ourselves. What a vital skill in today's world where we are more connected and yet, perhaps, more disconnected than ever. They also allow us to work through the scary moments and big emotions of life in a safe space.

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Not only that but reading for pleasure is one of the key indicators of a child’s success later in life, trumping socio-economic background. As Einstein once said: ‘If you want your child to be intelligent, read them fairy tales; if you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.’