| Charlotte
the narrator helps campaign
| 22
April - The Western Mail |
TEEN
singer Charlotte Church has lent her voice to the
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign by narrating a book
for its new series of children's stories.
She has recorded one of the tales about the
adventures of Montague Dragon, penned by
Worcestershire author Haydn Bebb, on audio tape
and is fronting the fund-raising campaign.
The books are aimed at children aged from three to
eight and were launched by Charlotte in January.
The stories, following the adventures of Monty and
a host of woodland friends, are told in rhyme and
a cassette containing the story and related songs
accompanies each book.
The Lonely Dragon, the first of 16 proposed
titles, is available at branches of Waterstones,
WH Smith and Sainsbury's.
Charlotte, who has sold millions of albums and has
fans all over the world, including the Pope, has
now recorded the second title, A Frosty Encounter,
at her Cardiff home and it is due to be released
later this month.
She said, "I am delighted to support Monty
and the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and I am
thrilled to have been asked to act as figurehead.
"I really enjoyed recording the story and
will be supporting Monty and his new friends in
their future adventures."
Charlotte already hosts a section on the Monty
website where children can ask questions about the
stories and about muscular dystrophy, a
progressive disease which causes muscle wasting
and weakness.
She said, "I fully support Monty's aims and
ideas. "The stories are all about helping
friends. "There are also lots of future
projects planned which will be designed to help
children with their reading and writing
skills."
The executive director of the Muscular Dystrophy
Campaign, Christine Cryne, said she was delighted
to have Charlotte's high-profile support to raise
awareness of the condition.
"The donations from book sales will go
towards vital research and Montague Dragon will
help increase awareness of this debilitating
disease for which there is no cure," she
said.
After the publication of the second book there
will a series of Montague Dragon workshops across
the country which will be a springboard for
national competitions.
Younger children will be invited to create a
character for a future Monty story and the winner
will see their contribution hit the shelves in the
autumn. - Beverly Jones -
The Western Mail
| Charlotte
announces her involvement in The Monty
Dragon Project |
April
- The Montague Dragon Project |
Charlotte
Church becomes the figure head for the Montague
Dragon Series and narrates the second story
Earlier
this year Charlotte Church, the young Welsh
singing superstar, gave her support to Montague
Dragon (‘Monty’) and The Muscular Dystrophy
Campaign with the launch of ‘The Lonely
Dragon’, the first book and audiocassette in a
series entitled ‘Tales of Montague Dragon’.
Charlotte has now agreed to become the figurehead
for ‘Monty’ and his fund raising campaign. The
second book in the series features Charlotte as a
storyteller. The story entitled ‘A Frosty
Encounter’ has been narrated by Charlotte and
was recorded in her home city of Cardiff.
The ‘Tales of Montague Dragon’ books support
the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign with part of the
proceeds from the sale of the books being donated
to the charity. Each of the planned 16 books has
accompanying cassette narration and features one
of ‘Monty’s’ songs. Worcestershire author
Haydn Bebb, came up with the idea for 'The Tales
of Montague Dragon', as an original way of raising
both awareness and funds for the Muscular
Dystrophy Campaign after his son was diagnosed
with a severe form of the condition.
Charlotte commented. “I am once again delighted
to support ‘Monty’ and the Muscular Dystrophy
Campaign and I am thrilled to have been asked to
act as the figurehead for ‘Monty’s’
fundraising campaign. I really enjoyed recording
the story and will be supporting ‘Monty’ and
his new friends in their future adventures.“
In addition to Charlotte’s involvement there are
a number of other celebrities wishing to support
and narrate the books in the series; announcements
of support will be made prior to each title
release.
Charlotte continued “ There are a lot of
exciting things planned and happening now for the
Montague Dragon books. Already there is a really
fun website on which I will host a section where
we can answer questions from young children and
their parents about ‘Monty’, his friends and
about Muscular Dystrophy. There are lots of future
projects planned which will be designed to help
children with their reading and writing skills.”
Charlotte added, “I was first approached to
support the Montague Dragon project last October,
I firmly believe in the value of education and
fully support Monty’s aims and ideas. The
stories are all about helping friends, and also
help to raise much needed funds for the Muscular
Dystrophy Campaign.”
The books are aimed at three to eight year olds
and were launched in January this year. The 1st
book entitled “The Lonely Dragon” is available
in branches of Waterstones bookstores, WH Smith
and Sainsbury’s. The second title ‘A Frosty
Encounter’ is due for release later this month.
‘Tales of Montague Dragon’ books follow the
exciting adventures of ‘Monty’ and his
woodland friends. The stories are told in rhyme
with an accompanying cassette narration and song.
Christine Cryne, Executive Director of the
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign comments: “The
Muscular
Dystrophy Campaign is delighted to have the
support of Charlotte Church for these wonderful
books.
The ‘Tales of Montague Dragon’ is a great
series of stories that will be enjoyed by children
everywhere. Our thanks go especially to Haydn Bebb
and The Montague Dragon Company for donating a
percentage of the retail price to the Muscular
Dystrophy Campaign. The donations from book sales
will go towards our vital research and support
work. Montague Dragon will also help increase
awareness about this debilitating condition, for
which we have no cure.”
Following the publication of the second book and
continuing throughout 2002, there will be a series
of Montague Dragon Workshops at schools across the
country. The Workshops are designed to help
encourage children develop their reading and
creative writing skills, whilst raising awareness
of Muscular Dystrophy in the process. The
Workshops will form the springboard for two
national competitions for children. Younger
children will be invited to create a new character
for a future Monty story and the winner will have
his/her character featured in a new book. Older
children will be invited to write a new story,
featuring Monty and other characters from the
series. The winning story will be incorporated and
published as part of the series later this autumn.
Montague Dragon is expected to greatly increase
awareness of Muscular Dystrophy and also raise a
significant amount of money for the Muscular
Dystrophy Campaign. The words ‘Muscular
Dystrophy’ stand for a range of conditions that
waste and weaken muscle. Although, as yet there is
no cure, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign funds
world class medical research in its search for
treatments and cures. The Campaign is also deeply
committed to providing support, information and
advice to families living with the condition.
| Charlotte
Church supports a new series of Children's
Books
| 20
January - Muscular Dystrophy Press Release |
Charlotte
Church, the young music superstar from Cardiff,
has given her support to a new series of
children's books, entitled 'The Tales of Montague
Dragon'. The books are aimed at three to eight
year olds and are being launched on Saturday
January 12th 2002. The 1st book entitled "The
Lonely Dragon" will be immediately available
in branches of Waterstones bookstores, WH Smith
and Sainsbury's.
The books support the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
with part of the proceeds from the sale of the
books being donated to the charity. Worcestershire
author Haydn Bebb, came up with the idea for 'The
Tales of Montague Dragon', as an original way of
raising both awareness and funds for the Muscular
Dystrophy Campaign after his son was diagnosed
with a severe form of the disease.
Charlotte Church says: "I am delighted to
support Montague Dragon and in turn the Muscular
Dystrophy Campaign and hope everyone enjoys
reading and listening to the Montague Dragon
stories".
Christine Cryne, Executive Director of the
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign comments: "The
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is delighted to have
the support of Charlotte Church for these
wonderful books.
'The Tales of Montague Dragon' is a great series
of stories that will be enjoyed by children
everywhere. Our thanks go especially to Haydn Bebb
and DreamStar Books for donating a percentage of
the retail price to the Muscular Dystrophy
Campaign. The donations from book sales will go
towards our vital research and support work.
Montague Dragon will also help increase awareness
about this debilitating condition, for which we
have no cure."
There are plans for 16 books in the series, each
with accompanying cassette narration and each
featuring one of Monty's songs, priced together at
£4.99. Each title in the series will be
introduced and narrated by a different
personality, with the first title narrated by the
author. There are already a number of celebrities
wishing to support and narrate the series and
announcements of support will be made prior to
each title release.
Following the January launch and continuing
throughout 2002, there will be a series of
Montague Dragon Workshops at schools across the
country. The Workshops are designed to help
children in the development of their reading and
writing skills, whilst raising awareness of
Muscular Dystrophy in the process. The Workshops
will form the springboard for two national
competitions for children. Younger children will
be invited to create a new character for a future
story and the winner will have his/her character
featured in a new book. Older children will be
invited to write a new story, featuring Monty and
other characters from the series. The winning
story will be incorporated and published as part
of the series in the autumn of 2002.
'The Tales of Montague Dragon' books follow the
exciting adventures of 'Monty' and his woodland
friends. The stories are told in rhyme with an
accompanying cassette narration. The books are
fully illustrated in full rich colour and are
written to captivate and entertain. Montague
Dragon is cast as a "good citizen" and
his tales are all about helping friends. The
stories and audiocassette are designed to
entertain and promote a child's reading skills and
vocabulary range. 'The Tales of Montague Dragon'
are expected to greatly increase awareness of
Muscular Dystrophy and also raise a significant
amount of money for the Muscular Dystrophy
Campaign.
