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Harp Tales – books for primary schools

Harp Tales is a book of fun and thoughtful children's poems with a free audio version, narrated with a dreamy harp soundtrack. It promotes moments of calm and creativity for young children.

This fundraiser will send free copies to primary schools and early years providers, for teachers to use as a mindful, music and story resource in the classroom.

Free copies are already being sent to children's wards to help little ones feel more settled and relaxed in hospital, especially as bedtime approaches, and this will extend the project.

Illustration for 'A Million Stars'.

Any amount will be gratefully received and will help towards ongoing costs of the project. If we reach the target then that will enable us to send out 50 Harp Tales class packs to different schools.

We also have some donation rewards in place.

If you donate

£10 and over - you will receive a free copy of the ‘Harp Tales’ book

£20 and over – as well as a free copy of the Harp Tales book you will receive a set of Kirstin Wood’s‘Little Monster’ greeting cards

£40 and over – as well as all the above you will also receive an original Kirstin Wood 'Little Monster' soft toy, as featured in the illustrations.

£60 and over - as well as all the above you will also receive a 10-minute, personal harp concert over zoom! 

This could either be a children’s/family set (nursery rhymes, Disney classics and harp poems live) or a mini version of Mark’s wedding and festival sets, blending between harp versions of modern rock and pop classics.

If your donation meets one of these thresholds, then we will get in touch to arrange delivery of your reward.


Nominate a school with your donation

You can nominate a primary school or early years provider anywhere in the UK with your donation, and we will endeavor to include them in the recipient list!

Mark delivering a live harp primary school session.


Poem 'Drawing Pictures' - illustration and text




How the project began

The words and music are written by Mark Levin, a professional harpist, writer and healthcare practitioner based in Oxted, Surrey. Mark has delivered live harp music sessions for children in hospitals and schools across London and the Southeast for over 12 years, providing mini moments of calm for children, families and staff.

The illustrations and layout are by Kirstin Wood, an artist and designer creating an array of colourful paintings, gifts and bespoke pet portraits from her garden studio in Merstham, Surrey.

The poems began as mobile phone notes that Mark wrote whilst on the train home from his hospital music sessions in London. They were inspired by the many interactions he has had on the wards with children and families over the years, as well by his own children's ever-changing views of the world – his children are six, three and nine months!

The notes were refined into a collection of poems which were later recorded with a relaxing harp soundtrack for the Harp Tales album during lockdown in 2020. This was a self-funded project whilst Mark's live sessions were suspended due to COVID-19. The idea was to bring mini moments of calm to families during an increasingly uncertain time, and the album also gave Mark a new creative focus during a tough year. The album is a free download available to all (no donation required) from https://harpforhospitals.com/harp-tales 

Kirstin has since brought the poems to life with a vibrant collection of playful, colourful illustrations presented now in the Harp Tales book.

There are more Harp Tales books in development. All longer rhyming stories with musical accompaniment that will be available later in the year!

For updates on this, and other harp and art related things that are keeping us busy, feel free to follow us on social media:

Mark - InstagramFacebook 

Kirstin - InstagramFacebook 

A live harp children's ward session.

Kirstin working on the illustration for the poem 'The Bubble.'

Harp Tales studio session in summer 2020. Mark narrated each poem with its own piece of original harp music. You can download the music for free and listen along as you read at home.

Organizer

Mark Levin
Organizer
England

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