Storybook Dads in Britain

In Britain, Storybook Dads is a registered charity with headquarters in Dartmoor Prison. It started in 2002 with one person, Sharon Berry, working on the project one day a week. She then set the scheme up as a charity and began fundraising so she could expand the scheme.

Storybook Dads has come a long way since 2002. By 2005, it had four staff, one volunteer, several prisoner editors, and had set up recording projects in more than 30 other prisons. Although the charity title suggests the service is only for male prisoners, the scheme also includes women prisons.

Although the concept of prisoners recording a story for their children is not a new one, Storybook Dads uses digital technology to enhance the stories.

Prisoners are recorded telling a story with the use of a microphone and a minidisk recorder. The story is downloaded onto a computer and any mistakes are edited out using digital audio software. Music and sound effects are added and the final story is put on to a CD.

“The result is very professional and the children (and the parents) are always amazed at the results,” writes  Sharon Berry, the Manager of Storybook Dads, on the HM Prison Services website.

The beauty of the scheme, she says, is that all prisoners can take part regardless of their reading ability. Even non-readers can participate by repeating the story one sentence at a time with a mentor. The mentor's voice can be edited out afterwards along with any mistakes and any unwanted noises that often occur in a prison environment.

“The children love these stories because they can hear their parent's voice whenever they want and the feedback from prisoners and their families is overwhelming,” Sharon Berry writes. “The parents feel that they are doing something for their children and this goes a long way towards strengthening family ties.”