Storytelling is a big part of what we do at make:good; we love getting to know the fabric of a place and what matters to people through their stories. To mark #NationalStorytellingWeek, we share the people, books & experiences that made us fall in love with storytelling.

CG: My mum is a huge reader and she always talked about stories being able to take you away from where you are into another place. To learn about the world beyond your own experience. Stories move us to change, not facts.

NB: My dad’s copy of Heart by Edmondo De Amicis is about respect, friendship & the emotions a child starting school faces. I still remember when I first read it; it gave me so much motivation and taught me that books are safe spaces where one can nourish their soul & imagination

KT: I've loved reading for as long as I can remember, but was particularly obsessed with books by Jacqueline Wilson as a child. I would spend whole days glued to her books. She has such a beautiful way of capturing how children navigate the world of grown-ups.

MS: I remember my Basque great grandmother, Amatxi, telling us stories about WWII - how she was hiding "la Resistance" in her hotel & house on the French coast. Storytelling has the power to make us travel through time & space but more importantly creates connections between ppl

TB: Super cringe but I loved reading as a child and forgot about it when I realised how good TV was and then I found the first hunger games book and yeah I was back book worming like I never left

JS: My dad would make up magical tales when I was little. One that stands out was about a hollowed out tree on Hampstead Heath where he told us a troll lived & hoarded treasure. We would 'stumble across' carefully placed chocolate gold treasure every time we went there.