A vervet monkey named Chee Chee, a little boy who loves masquerade and a pig who lives on the beach are some of the characters which feature in the Good Night Montserrat reading series.
Good Night Montserrat is a new addition to the Alliouagana Festival of the Word programme for the virtual 2020 edition, which began on Sunday November 15 and runs until Sunday, November 22 nightly at 7PM on the festivals Facebook page.
Watch Good Night Montserrat on YouTube
“The focus was two-fold, the literary festival page has a small audience on Facebook, and we wanted to create content which would bring attention to the upcoming festival. Children are an important part of the focus of the festival and as it is virtual, we wanted to create multiple short bursts of entertainment which parents could share with them each night,” explained festival organizer Nerissa Golden of Goldenmedia.
Over the coming week, ten books will be featured primarily from authors who publish with CaribbeanReads, a small imprint out of St. Kitts. “We are pleased to support the literary festival and the Good Night Montserrat series. An important part of CaribbeanReads’ mission is to increase the stock of quality, interesting, relevant, and intellectually accessible books available to Caribbean children. We believe that providing Caribbean children with books set in the Caribbean is one key to capturing the upcoming generation, channelling their energies, and shaping a successful future for them. To this end our books are all either representative of Caribbean culture or written by Caribbean authors,” said the publisher Carol Mitchell.
Sunday night’s readings of Chee Chee in Paradise was by reigning Miss Montserrat Janet Turner, while Wilbur the Beach Pig: Remember When was presented by Miss Teen Montserrat Rondine Daley.
Other notable faces who will be reading nightly are Minister of Agriculture Crenston Buffonge, Morning Show Host Basil Chambers, businesswoman Lorraine Lewis and the incomparable Rose Willock, OBE, OE.
The readings were recorded at Chez Mango Villa and Iris Way Villa with support of the Government Information Unit.
The Alliouagana Festival of the Word will begin Friday, November 20 at 10AM on Facebook.com/afwlitfest. It can also be viewed on the Discover Montserrat YouTube channel. Main sponsors for Good Night Montserrat are the Montserrat Arts Council, Goldenmedia, Governor’s Office and Caribbean Reads.
About Caribbean Reads
CaribbeanReads is a St. Kitts-based publishing company which has been producing children’s books since 2009. We began with a single title, Adventure at Brimstone Hill by founder Carol Mitchell and now have more than fifty titles including softcover, hardcover, eBooks, audio books, and foreign language editions. Our children’s books range in target age from kindergarten to young adult and include two prize-winning titles and activity books. Our books can be found in schools, bookstores, libraries, and homes in almost every island in the Caribbean, the US, the UK, Canada, Denmark, and Australia.
