Capturing the hearts and minds of children and their families, this magical and mesmerising story uses folk dance and music to offer an insight into Traveller culture and lifestyles, encouraging acceptance and celebration of others. Telling stories and cultural pride are so fundamental to all people, just as they are to Gypsy and Traveller communities,” says Rachel Cooper. Ossiri is an ambitious child, who, inspired by the talented travelling musicians that perform at family celebrations, dreams of learning to play an instrument herself. Here, we see the rise and fall of Ossiri’s dream- her resourcefulness shining in the face of adversity and the continuous desire to perform, regardless of those who tell her to stop. There is something quite special about Ossiri’s passion, which becomes increasingly magical and heartfelt as her audience evolves into someone quite unexpected. It is very warming to see how starkly the trio distinguish acts done with the heart and soul, and those motivated by greed, mixed in with an endearing touch of humour. Ossiri came from a family of "Tattin Folki" - Travelers who were rag-and-bone people, recycling material they collected - and she worked hard. But her secret dream was to be a musician. Creating her own instrument, a Tattin Django, from found elements, she set out to make music, only to be discouraged by her family's negative reaction. Then she found herself playing for the Bala Mengro - a hairy ogre - and making her fortune... Stories representing Gypsy and Traveller communities are so important, they need to be heard and told,” says Keira Martin, adding that it was her “absolute pleasure” to be involved and to be trusted with such an old traditional story.

Tattin Folki of the Romani and Traveling people were some of the first to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Our readers have much to learn from not only Ossiri’s innovative instrument-making, but also from her playing “from the heart, not for gain.” These activity sheets encourage readers to create their own instruments, learn to sew a button, construct a cardboard loom, and to explore Romani words. Ossiri is an ambitious child, who, inspired by the talented travelling musicians that perform at family celebrations, dreams of learning to play an instrument herself. Here, we see the rise and fall of Ossiri’s dream- her resourcefulness shining in the face of adversity and the continuous desire to perform, regardless of those who tell her to stop. There is something quite special about Ossiri’s passion, which becomes increasingly magical and heartfelt as her audience evolves into someone quite unexpected. It is very warming to see how starkly the creators distinguish acts done with the heart and soul, and those motivated by greed, mixed in with an endearing touch of humour. She has spent most of her working life as a journalist and has made many films for the BBC, as well as working as a correspondent for The Economist, contributing to British broadsheets, including the Guardian, Sunday Times and the Telegraph. She also freelances regularly for other papers, including a stint providing roving political analysis for The Economist, where she has worked as a Britain correspondent, during the 2010 general election, with a similar stint for Prospect in the 2017 snap election. Young people from both the Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller communities have been part of the development of the show, sharing their stories, experiences, learning dance and music, and recording their voices that appear as part of the show. Keira Martin worked closely with Gypsy and Traveller young people at Leeds GATE to bring this performance to life.Ossiri and the Bala Mengro tells the tale of a young Traveller girl, Ossiri, whose family worked hard as ‘Tattin Folki’, or rag-and bone people who recycled old scrap metal. Teach the good with the bad. Frequently, teaching about the history of minorities focuses on tragedies, hardship or inequality faced by that group in the past (or present). When government ministers are asked about including GRT groups in the curriculum they often reference the compulsory teaching of the Holocaust in KS3. While it is of the utmost importance that these parts of history are learnt about, and in this case that the mass murder of millions of Gypsies and Roma people is included in that teaching, it should not be the only thing that is taught about these groups.

Think about the GRT pupils in your class. You might think you don’t have any but given that there are at least half a million GRT people in the UK, a large proportion of whom are under 18, and 75% of whom don’t declare their ethnicity, it’s very possible that you do but don’t know it. If you do know you have GRT pupils, you might want to let them know beforehand and perhaps ask if they have any thoughts on your plans or want to share anything themselves. They and their families might even want to get involved in helping you plan though you should also stress that there is no pressure on them to represent their entire community or culture.

Monday 11th January

I also loved how the story emphasized recycling. The littles and I only recycle soda cans but it opened up the conversion about recycling and how we can recycle more. The Spring Lane Traveller women’s group in Cork have also written a book called ‘Paddy the Traveller boy’. If you work with older children you might want to plan a full lesson for GRT history month (though I think Ossiri and Bala Mengro looks so incredible I’d read it to all ages!).

Director & Creative Producer at Spin Arts, Sarah Shead, says that it had been fantastic to spend time with the incredible young Gypsy Traveller people at Leeds GATE. This tale of ‘Tattin Folki’ – or rag and bone people – vividly conjures a ‘Traveller’ way of life inside Britain that few ‘settled people’ know, and it comes from a collaboration between a Romani storyteller and a picture-book writer to capture oral stories before they are lost. Ossiri, a Traveler or Romani girl who loves music and is proud of the tinkering she does to help the family recycle, mend, alter, and sell goods as they travel, decides to make her own musical instrument, since they can’t afford to buy one. Avoid stereotyping. Teaching about the culture of an ethnic group means walking a fine line between highlighting group traditions, while avoiding making out that everyone in that group does or is those things. As stereotyping fuels further prejudice, children and young people should always be pushed to recognise the groups’ heterogeneity. The illustrations, which remind me slightly of Lowry paintings, cleverly evoke the bold colours and style of Romani culture. Like the text, they include details of Traveller lifestyles that children will surely love to examine. For instance, one spread shows all the tiny pieces that Ossiri assembles to make her ‘Tattin Django’. Another gives us a wide-angle view into a Traveller camp at night.

Friday 15th January

This delightful book will translate easily to online programming offerings. The possibilities in terms of activities are endless. In the past, I’d struggled to translate the work of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, also known as the Recycled Orchestra, (the children’s orchestra of Asunción, Paraguay), but Ossiri and the Bala Mengro offers a jumping off point for our younger online participants. I can’t wait to try these out! —Jonathan Dolce, Aston County Library ABOUT THE BOOK Gypsy and Traveller young people part of a new performance project in Bradford, working alongside award-winning artists Director of Development at Leeds GATE, Rachel Cooper, made clear the importance of cultural opportunities like this for young people. Everyone has a story to tell, but far too often Gypsy and Traveller stories are either overlooked or twisted into a narrative that continues to ignite racism and prejudices” says Sarah Shead. We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.