The research behind our storybook reading sessions always takes a participatory, community-led approach. This means that we work with parents, headteachers, teachers, and other community leaders (librarian, local councillor, community centre managers, local charity heads) to understand a community and what they want before we do anything else. Participatory research of this kind is essential to design an engaging intervention that meet the needs of the local community. We conduct interviews and focus groups with the people identified above and then run pilot sessions and get feedback on them. We have learned that this is the only way that we can design sessions that will be valuable, engaging and sustainable. We are hugely grateful to everyone who has helped us to understand their communities and have generously given their time and expertise
