THE NGC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest is launching an exciting new resource this weekend – Bocas Storytime, a dedicated YouTube channel for viewers aged 12 and under.
Bocas Storytime promises a diverse range of videos available on demand – read-alouds, animations, storytelling, and fun workshops – all inspired by Caribbean books and culture, a media release said. Youngsters can tune in by computer, mobile phone, tablet, or TV.
The new YouTube channel goes live on April 30, with new content added regularly in the weeks ahead. Viewers can search for Bocas Storytime on YouTube and click the “subscribe” button for notifications about new content.
The Bocas Storytime launch coincides with the 2022 NGC Bocas Lit Fest, aimed at adult readers and viewers, which runs from April 28 to May 1. Since the launch of Trinidad and Tobago’s annual literary festival in 2011, children’s events have been an integral part of the programme, the release said.
Festival director Nicholas Laughlin said the children's events are important and help to create future readers and writers.
[caption id="attachment_952064" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Aaron Duncan will perform during a read-aloud from a children's book during the NGC Bocas Lit Fest's Bocas Storytime event. - SUREASH CHOLAI[/caption]
“In some ways, this is the most important part of what we do. The NGC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest offers fun and entertainment, but it also helps create a future generation of readers and writers, opening their eyes to the creative potential of words and stories. Our new YouTube channel will make our video content for under-12s even more convenient for children and parents to access – they can watch their favourites any day and time, as often as they like,” Laughlin said in the release.
"Bocas Storytime will nurture young viewers’ language skills and improve their understanding of the world around us, through topics such as Carnival, folklore, and the environment. It also features inspiring young writers, like six-year-old Coryn Clarke, TT’s youngest published author, and nine-year-old Josh Hansraj, two-time winner of Dragonzilla’s Short Story Writing Challenge. Other young authors sharing their work include Kai-De Alexis, Naila Baynes, and Mila Smith, all of whom have recently published their own books," the Lit Fest said in the release.
Music also comes into the mix, in the video How to Become a Calypsonian, with a read-aloud from a children’s book by Antigua and Barbuda author Desryn Collins, featuring an appearance by young performer Aaron Duncan. Jamaica’s “royal family” of reggae also make an appearance with a read-aloud by Ziggy Marley and his wife, Orly, who have co-written Little John Crow, a heartwarming story with a lesson about accepting our differences, the release said.
Other Bocas Storytime videos offer read-alouds by popular TT children’s authors Tracey Baptiste, Jeunanne Alkins, Neala Bhagwansingh, Liseanne Martin-Subero, and Gail Morong. A special video produced in association with the TT Association for the Hearing Imp
