Lenny the land snail was all alone until a group of children decided to help him find a friend, the beginning of an adventure for them all – and for the hundreds of children who came along to a Zoo Centre story session.
The story sessions provided a framework within which early-years children could be introduced to a number of unfamiliar animals, make observations, and identify similarities and differences between them.
The sessions were easy to customise so there could be a focus on a topic that was being studied in school (movement, colour, etc.)
The story revolves around Lenny, our heroic (but nevertheless lonely) land-snail and his need to find a friend. During the session, the children joined Lenny and the story-teller on an epic journey around the Zoo Centre, meeting, touching and holding a variety of animals.
The driving force behind the story sessions was Issy Bonnel, who had joined the education team from Marwell Zoo, and had seen something similar work well there. She adapted the Marwell concept to fit our animals. The wonderful illustrations were by Bernie Ryan, and Emyr Morris did the Welsh translation. Design and typesetting by Howie Watkins.
