Tell a Fairy Tale Day with some very special storytellers!

At Coram Beanstalk we believe you're never too young or too old, to enjoy listening to a story and to benefit from doing so.

So, to celebrate Tell a Fairy Tale Day, we asked some of our children's author friends to tell us their favourite fairy tales.

Take a seat, open your ears and let Abi Elphinstone, Pippa Goodhart, Marianne McShane and Claire Fayers whisk you away to magical lands of adventure, fantasy and legend...

Pippa Goodhart tells the English fairy tale of Tom Thumb

Abi Elphinstone tells the Scottish fairy tale of The Dragon Stoorworm

Claire Fayers tells the Welsh fairy tale of Dic Spot and the Goblin

Marianne McShane tells the Irish fairy tale of Niamh of the Golden Hair

Latest

April 2024

With things finally starting to feel a bit more spring-like outside and Earth Day being celebrated on 22nd April, this month we've chosen a #BrilliantBeanstalkBook of the month which we hope will help children understand the importance of protecting our planet and some of the issues faced by climate change. Read more about 'The Last Bear' by Hannah Gold here...
Win books for your nominated school library!

Coram Beanstalk, The Alligator's Mouth Book Shop and The Bright Agency are once again offering schools the opportunity to win a set of the ten books longlisted for The Alligator’s Mouth Award 2024, which champions both authors and illustrators of highly illustrated children’s fiction. Nominate a UK-based school to win a set of the ten longlisted books for their school library here...
6 ways graphic novels encourage reading for pleasure

Our friends at Parrot Street Book Club generously give us a 50p donation for every book they ship to their subscribers. Here, Emily Bright and Sarah Campbell, founders of the book subscription service for children, have written about the 6 ways in which graphic novels can encourage reading for pleasure!
Celebrating the success of our Reading Leaders programme

Having delivered over 40 of our Reading Leaders courses in secondary schools across the country since September, we're delighted to be receiving so much positive feedback and have even appeared in a recent Ofsted report. Read more here...

6 ways graphic novels encourage reading for pleasure

Our friends at Parrot Street Book Club generously give us a 50p donation for every book they ship to their subscribers. Here, Emily Bright and Sarah Campbell, founders of the book subscription service for children, have written about the 6 ways in which graphic novels can encourage reading for pleasure!
Welcome to a new year with Coram Beanstalk

Amy Lewis, Head of Coram Beanstalk, welcomes in a new year...
'Focus on the child, not their reading age!'

At Coram Beanstalk we're often asked how best to support children in specific year groups and sometimes we can find ourselves becoming overly concerned by a child’s reading age or ability and what level books they “should” be reading. Our Learning and Development Manager, Rebecca Pedelty-cox helps unpick the idea of a 'reading age'.
Reading is the bedrock of knowledge and that’s why I work as a reading helper at a primary school in Birmingham.

Dr Bharti Parmar couldn't read until she was seven years old. Here she tells us how the reasons for that have shaped her volunteering role with us...
As a retired teacher with dyslexia I knew immediately I had to be involved!

One of our recently trained reading helpers talks about why she chose to join our Coram Beanstalk reading community...
Giving the gift of reading is more than just giving a book

Giving the gift of reading is so much more than ‘just’ giving a child a book. When we give a child a reason to read that book, when we help them to discover for themselves the value and pleasure that reading can bring, and give them free rein to explore books in their own way.... those children become readers with all of the benefits that brings!
Growing into myself with a book

Do you have a memory of a time when you suddenly felt very grown up and that, quite possibly, something you'd chosen to read played a part in giving you that feeling of independence and perhaps contributed to you growing more fully into yourself? Hear from children's author Ross Montgomery who talks of just such an experience!
A reading helper's response to 'Why a joke book is more than just a stocking filler"

Reading helper Michael Dillon talks about his experience of using joke books, in response to Gill Worrall's blog "Why a joke book is more than just a stocking filler."
Why we need to be more open-minded about science fiction

With Science Fiction Day on January 2nd, our Book of the Month and theme for January just had to be science fiction books! Love them or hate them, its important to offer children as many different reading materials as possible to help them find their own favourite genre!
Why a joke book is more than just a stocking filler

December is the month of Christmas crackers so we've got jokes on our mind! Gill Worrall our Resources Developer, explores how jokes and riddles can be a useful tool in helping children with their comprehension!

Apply to become a volunteer with us

Ready to take the first step to becoming a reading helper? Check that you can meet some basic practicalities and fill in our application form here.
Frequently asked questions

You may have some questions in your mind before you fill in your application form. Here are answers to our most commonly asked questions. If your question isn't answered here you can find out how to get in touch with our team.
The benefits of being a reading helper

We know from our volunteers that being a reading helper brings purpose and enjoyment into their lives. Find out more about the benefits of being part of our reading community here.
Our approach

Find out more about how we work and our approach to reading support.
Thank you for applying to be a Coram Beanstalk reading helper
Literacy charities join forces

On 1st November 2017 Reading Matters merged with the national children’s literacy charity Beanstalk.
Current vacancies

Click here to view our current vacancies.
Volunteer agreement

Find out more about how we will do the best we can to make your volunteer experience with us enjoyable and rewarding.
How we train and support our volunteers

Find out how we help our volunteers to become confident in delivering the Coram Beanstalk approach and feel connected, and supported, within our reading community.
Story Starters training

Our early years programme offers a unique approach to equipping adults in your setting to help children develop all six crucial pre-reading skills plus the communication, concentration and confidence they need to ‘catch the reading bug’. Read more about how our unique programme Story Starters can help you ensure that children start their primary education ready to be taught to read.