Book review: That's My Story by Adam Power-Annand

I found That's My Story by Adam Power-Annand to be an incredibly informative, interesting and practical book about using drama activities to develop confidence, communication skills and creativity in young children. It promotes a child-centric approach to learning which feels genuine and heartfelt. As a teacher, I found this an inspiring and helpful resource that I will be referring back to frequently to enhance my own practice.

Having said that, it does begin a little slowly, with the author sharing anecdotes from his time teaching ‘Speech Bubbles’ in schools. As I read through these sections, I enjoyed the informal, easy voice of the writing, but wondered when we would really get into the crux of the book. It started to pick up in value and relevance once we reached the next chapter, which focussed on the theoretical aspects of speech and language, and why communication is so important. This chapter included some interactive elements to help the reader to interrogate their own experience and beliefs surrounding communication. This successfully laid a strong foundation of knowledge and research on which the book could build, as well as encouraging self-reflection and active participation from the reader.