Jackanory has been reinvented for the 21st Century. All the elements of the Jackanory of old are still there.
The show still presents the story told to camera, but the new series brings the book illustrations to life using animation and 'green screen' to place the storyteller on the page, interacting with the story landscape. Elements of the book's illustrations also appear as animations in the studio, ranging from lazy cats lounging on walls and butterflies flitting around a jungle clearing, to a plague of elves in an ordinary kitchen.
Major modern authors' books have been given the new Jackanory treatment. Authors include Jeanette Winterson, Roald Dahl, Malorie Blackman and Geraldine McCoughrean. The style of the show is a lot pacier with a more contemporary look and the studio set is a constantly changing kit of parts that can be transformed from a desert, to a castle or a boat at sea without ever losing its identity as Jackanory.
The show is transmitted on CBeebies and is reaching out to an audience of four to six year olds and their parents who remember and loved the original series. All that was good and memorable about the Jackanory brand has been retained but it has been transformed as a visual experience.
Our storytellers are well-known and well-loved British TV and film actors - such as Lenny Henry, Martin Clunes, Sophie Okonedo (Oscar-nominated for Hotel Rwanda), Holly Aird (Waking The Dead, Soldier Soldier), Shobna Gulati (Coronation Street, Dinner Ladies), Art Malik and Chris Marshall (My Family).
The educational value of the show
Jackanory Junior helps children to:
- Experience storytelling in a range of situations with brilliant animations.
- Develop the beginning stages of literacy.
- Build a life-long passion for books, stories and language.
