Welcome to our latest Press Club Junior Reporter Owen C., 7, from Oakville. He created a fantastic character called “Shark Kid” ‒ who is part shark, part kid. His superpowers are flying, swimming and walking.
Thank you Owen for sharing your creative art work!
The Telling Tales Press Club is designed to encourage kids aged 6-16 to write, draw […]
Your Summer Reading Guide to Great Children’s Books
Reading is a great activity that will get kids away from the screens and stretch their imaginations. They can meet new characters, explore new cities and worlds, and learn something new. It’s all possible in a book!
Keep the kids reading all summer long with a variety of books […]
Launching 10 years of Telling Tales
Through stories, we learn that anything is possible. It’s remarkable how a bold idea for a free children’s literary festival has been so strongly embraced. Over the past decade, Telling Tales has evolved into a year-round literacy program – one that links storytelling superheroes with our community.
“Telling Tales has succeeded […]
Announcing the Telling Tales 2017-2018
Stories Take You Anywhere School Contest Winners
Congratulations to all of the schools that entered the 2017-2018 Telling Tales Stories Take You Anywhere School Contest. We received many original and inspiring stories, videos, pictures, and songs. It is clear there are many talented and creative students in our communities!
The Telling Tales school […]
John T. Tuck Public School wins Telling Tales Team Spirit Award
The Telling Tales author team, the Tale Tellers, challenged kids at the Kids Lit Quiz Canada Hamilton Heats held on January 24, 2018 at Hillfield Strathallan College. The Kids’ Lit Quiz has been inspiring and challenging young readers for over 25 years. They encourage kids to […]
Kids and the school
By Brynn R., 7
The children went to a tiny little school. The children had all different ages in their class. There was only one class. The children who lived close to the school went home and got their lunch. Others who lived farther away had brought their lunches to school. There was […]
Exercising pays off with the YMCA
by Ema G., 12
On September 17, Telling Tales sponsors YMCA came to the annual Telling Tales Festival at Westfield Heritage Village. This year, me and my younger sister decided to try it out, and much to our excitement, they had prepared a scavenger hunt for all the kids! They would […]
Telling Tales awarded with donation from Grant Thornton Foundation
Telling Tales is proud to accept $1,000 as part of the Grant Thornton Foundation CEO Community Service Award.
This award competition recognizes Grant Thornton staff that have made significant and sustained volunteer contributions to charitable organizations in their communities. Suzon Cochrane was selected from a long list of […]
New author at Telling Tales
By Mara H., 8
Naseem Hrab reads her new book at Telling Tales. The name of the book is Ira Crumb Makes a Pretty Good Friend. It was so funny and fantastic.
She has been an author for only two years and has only published one book. The audience loved the story. […]
Storybook characters come to life at Telling Tales
Every year kids love meeting historical and literary characters at the Telling Tales Festival. They learn about the stories, characters and authors in an interactive way. Families laugh with Cinderella’s Step Sisters, find out about the spirited Anne of Green Gables, and discover interesting tidbits of information from […]
Win a SIGNED Book!
We’re so excited about our new Storytelling Workshop on November 3rd, we’re giving away SIGNED books this weekend!
We’ll ask a new question each day on our Facebook page from Saturday, October 28, 2017 until Sunday, October 29, 2017. Simply reply in the comment section below the post by midnight for your chance to […]
Kids: Become junior reporters and have your work published!
Join author and journalist Joyce Grant for a special Telling Tales Press Club Journalism Workshop during the Telling Tales Festival on Sunday, September 17, 2017. During this interactive workshop kids six and up can become a junior reporter and learn all about what a journalist does. Joyce […]
Celebrating Canadian stories at the 9th annual Telling Tales Festival
Discover stories about family, friendship, adventure, and Canadian history at this year’s Telling Tales Festival. Plus, find out what inspires authors to write, learn drawing tips from illustrators, and listen to musical tales.
Join us this fall for amazing presentations for the whole family – kids, […]
Enter the Telling Tales App Photo Contest to win an author visit to your school
Books are full of magic and adventure, and have the power to transport readers to new destinations.
We’re looking for creative and fun photos that feature your favourite reading spot. Whether it’s in your room, at the park, or on a cross-country […]
Kids’ Lit Quiz 2017 World Finals
During the Kids’ Lit Quiz 2017 World Finals, kids gathered to demonstrate their love and knowledge of books. Canada was host to the World Finals on July 3, 2017.
The Kids’ Lit Quiz has been inspiring and challenging young readers for over 25 years. They encourage kids to focus on teamwork, […]
Enter the Telling Tales Bookmark Contest this summer
Here’s your chance to win awesome prizes and express your creative side! Create a bookmark showing how stories take you anywhere.
This contest is for children 3 to 14 years old. Two prizes will be given out in each of the following age categories:
3 to 4 years
5 to 6 […]
Celebrate Canada 150 and Telling Tales with these special books!
The City of Hamilton is a proud supporter of Telling Tales. In anticipation of the Telling Tales Festival and Canada’s 150th anniversary, the City is giving away FREE books to children at Ontario Early Years Centres and Parenting and Family Literacy Centres, while quantities last. Children may […]
Announcing the 2017 Stories Take You Anywhere School Contest Judges
Special guest judges will select winners in the 2017 Telling Tales Stories Take You Anywhere School Contest.
The school contest encourages students to work together for a chance to win an author experience at their school. As a class, students select a book from the 2017 Telling Tales Reading List. […]
Celebrating Canadian Stories in 2017
Illustrator, writer and broadcaster, Kevin Sylvester, officially kicked-off the 9th annual Telling Tales program! Telling Tales is a yearlong community initiative dedicated to promoting literacy and inspiring a love of reading. This campaign includes many fun and engaging initiatives for kids, teens, and families to get them excited about reading, writing […]
Announcing the new Telling Tales Board of Directors
Over the past nine years Telling Tales has developed and expanded, but we have always remained true to our initial vision of inspiring a love of reading and improving literacy levels in children and youth.
Telling Tales started in 2009 as a project sponsored by Rotary Club of Hamilton […]
Enjoying a magical story time at Bellmoore
The winning photo!Students at Bellmoore Elementary School in Binbrook enjoyed a magical story time filled with mythological creatures and wonder! This unique author experience was the top prize in the 2016 Telling Tales App Photo Contest.
We asked literary fans to snap and share a picture of their favourite reading […]
If you love to read, you know how expensive it can be to speed through book after book! Buying books brand new can be an exciting purchase and the smell of fresh pages is truly irreplaceable, but there are also some wonderful ways to enjoy the character of used and free books here in your community. […]
Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers – you are the reason our Festival is so successful!
To celebrate Volunteer Appreciation Month, we wanted to recognize one of our dedicated volunteers.
As part of the Festivals and Events Ontario Top 100 designation, we are able to recognize a volunteer. This year Julie Shea was recognized and […]
Illustrator and author Ruth Ohi visits Adelaide Hoodless
Students at Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School in Hamilton picked up some neat illustration tips from author and illustrator Ruth Ohi on March 24, 2017. The creative students won an author visit as the top prize in the 2016 Telling Tales Explore Your World School Contest.
The winning class was inspired by […]
Happy March Break! This week is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with books, games, and the company of family. Finding ways to read together can be difficult, especially with varying age groups and interests, but there are plenty of ways to add family story time to your routine no matter what age […]
Barbara Reid visits John T. Tuck Students
Students at John T. Tuck Public School in Burlington enjoyed a special author visit by Barbara Reid on March 2, 2017. The talented students from Mrs. Hill’s JK-SK class won an author visit as the top prize in the 2016 Telling Tales Explore Your World School Contest.
Together the winning […]
There are a lot of reasons why reading at home may not be as relaxing as we’d like to think: writer’s block, bad lighting, falling asleep on top of your homework, noise, etc. What you need is a change in your environment and luckily Hamilton is full of awesome spots to be productive or relax […]
Poetry has undoubtedly taken over the Instagram sphere. From perfectly placed novels accented with succulents and coffee, to minimalist black typewriter text bleeding through white paper, poetry has a very particular aura and these pictures truly can say a hundred words. If you’re a teen looking to feel inspired, set your mind free with these […]
The advantages of going digital are obvious. Things like portability, storage, and cost-efficiency, but what’s less obvious is how these new age devices are impacting the quality of reading.
A study published in the Library & Information Science Research Journal in 2014 found that out of 143 10th grade students, e-books were significantly preferred. It also […]
Born in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, Kenneth Oppel first knew he wanted to write stories around the age of 12. He started off with sci-fi adventures and progressed to sorcery tales of dragons before phasing into humorous stories at age 14. His first published work, Colin’s Fantastic Video Adventure was in 1985 and fulfilled […]
Share stories together on Family Literacy Day
Enter the Telling Tales Family Literacy Day Book Giveaway
Family Literacy Day is on Friday, January 27, 2017 – it’s a day dedicated to reading stories together as a family. At Telling Tales we think this is a great initiative. We’re celebrating by giving away SIGNED books all week long!
Win […]
Telling Stories at Strathcona
Strathcona Elementary School in Hamilton was the first-place winner the 2016 Telling Tales Explore Your World School Contest. On December 15, 2016 they enjoyed their prize – an author visit by Andrew Larsen!
The winning class worked together to create a large masterpiece inspired by Andrew’s book The Imaginary Garden. As their prize, […]
Giving the gift of literacy to children in our community
Telling Tales presents $10,000 to local literacy organizations
For the past eight years, Telling Tales has been proud to give back to literacy projects in the Hamilton community. These contributions directly support local youth, and assist in achieving the Festival’s goals of celebrating stories throughout the year […]
Christmas comes early at Telling Tales
Celebrate the holiday season with tickets to the Nutcracker
Get into the holiday spirit with music, dance, and spending time with family. Ballet Jörgen has generously donated family passes to their upcoming performance of The Nutcracker. This Canadian holiday tradition takes place on Saturday, December 10, 2016 at Hamilton Place.
Here’s your […]
Telling Stories at Telling Tales
Congratulations to the 2016 “Tell Your Tale” contest winners!
Literary and historical characters are very popular at the Telling Tales Festival. They bring stories to life as they stroll around Westfield talking to families. Children have the opportunity to meet and speak with characters like Anne of Green Gables, Cinderella’s evil step […]
