A Sensory Story for World Book Day
World Book Day is on the 4th of March this year. A perfect day for a sensory story with lots of books in it! I wrote this story for the Wigtown Book Festival and imagined it happening in one of the lovely wee bookshops in Wigtown, but feel free to set your version of the […]
A Pancake Day Sensory Story
This time I have a script for you rather than a book recommendation. This script is for an easy-to-tell sensory story for pancake day. It’s based on the folktale The Little Red Hen. When telling the story it can be fun to use the names of children or adults who are present for the different […]
Chinese New Year
The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine and Sebastià Serra is a fun lively tale for Chinese New Year. It’s published by Dutton Books and is also available as an e-book. It makes an excellent Chinese New Year sensory story for children with complex additional needs. The text is slightly complicated – however the story […]
Stone Soup
It’s back to Wigtown Book Festival again for a big bowl of Stone Soup. This traditional tale about sharing is told all over the world. I’ve created a simple sensory story version that uses ordinary household objects as props. Watch the video and join in here: Download the script and check out the other Wigtown […]
Wake up Santa!
I’m sending you over to the Wigtown Book Festival again for a Christmas sensory story! Santa has fallen asleep – the children won’t get any presents! The magical objects and animals at Santa’s home try to wake him up. This sensory story is very easy to use at the last minute in the run up […]
The Magic Porridge Pot
For this blog post I am sending you to the lovely Wigtown Book Festival! I am very happy to be working with the Wigtown Festival on a series of Sensory Story and Rhyme videos. First up is the Magic Porridge Pot: https://www.wigtownbookfestival.com/library/a-sensory-story Pots and pans and wooden spoons at the ready! There will be a […]
A Squash and a Squeeze, Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Many of us may be feeling a little bit squashed and squeezed at the moment as we are stuck at home more than normal. What a good time to share the fun of Julia Donaldson’s book! There is so much rhythm and rhyme for a child with complex additional needs to enjoy here – or […]
Even More Autumn and Halloween Sensory Stories!
I’ve come across a couple more lovely books so I can’t resist giving some more seasonal sensory story suggestions… Both of these books would be easy to transform into engaging sensory stories for children with complex additional needs. We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger, illustrated by Miki Sakamoto would be the perfect […]
More Sensory Stories for Autumn and Halloween
Here are some links to Autumn and Halloween sensory stories available online. (More Autumn and Halloween book recommendations coming in the next few days!) Inclusiveteach.com have a lovely gentle autumn sensory story available to download here: And Pathstoliteracy.org have a sensory story based on Lois Ehlert’s book Leaf Man: https://www.pathstoliteracy.org/strategies/leaf-man-sensory-story I love Lois Ehlert’s picture […]
It Was a Cold, Dark Night, Tim Hopgood
Autumn is definitely here – time for some nice Autumn sensory stories. Tim Hopgood’s It Was A Cold, Dark Night is perfect for turning into a sensory story to mark the beginning of the new season. Hover over the images to see links to where to buy the prop suggestions – or get in touch […]
Baby Goes to Market, Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank
This lovely story about a mother and child visiting a West African market is very simple to follow and has big bright illustrations. Although it is about a baby it is not a ‘babyish’ story. I think it would work well as a sensory story for children with complex additional needs of many different ages. […]
Stanley’s School, William Bee
Here in Scotland we are just about to go back to school. Stanley’s School is a cheerful story about a school day that will give you a chance to remind your wee ones about their school routine and discuss how things may be different at school now. Stanley’s School is widely available available in hardback […]
The Carrot Seed, Ruth Krauss
Here is a sensory story for those of you who are enjoying pottering in the garden, strolling past your local allotments or growing some herbs on the window sill… The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, with lovely simple illustrations by Crockett Johnson, is a simple story which celebrates the wonder of growing things and the […]
What a Wonderful World, illustrated by Tim Hopgood
It’s the last week of term here in Scotland so I wanted to write about a feel-good book that teachers in Special Schools might enjoy reading to their pupils before the holidays start. If you want to get hold of this book in time for the end of term there is a Kindle Cloud Reader […]
Peace at Last, Jill Murphy
This picture book is perfect for telling as a multi-sensory story to a child with complex additional needs. It has a simple narrative with lots of lovely repetition and includes some very engaging noises!
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
This satisfying tale can easily be turned into a multi-sensory story using only regular household objects. The rhythm and repetition in this story make it perfect to share with a child with complex additional needs.
All Join In, Quentin Blake
A joyful book guaranteed to cheer up even the gloomiest of days! All Join In is is made up of a series of rhyming poems. All of these are lovely to read aloud, and all include lots of engaging noises.
The Crow and the Pitcher
One of Aesop’s fables, The Crow and the Pitcher (or The Crow and the Jug) is a very simple little tale, fun to act out and it even includes some science! It uses objects that you will have around your house.
