Students bring magical creatures to life as part of Summer Reading Challenge
Libraries08 July 2025
Creative students at the University of Northampton have hit the ‘play’ button on a commission created to encourage children to take part in the 2025 Summer Reading Challenge.
Supported by Digital Northants, the project saw four students from the University’s Creative Film, Television and Digital Media Production course commissioned in Spring 2025 to deliver a film which promotes the county’s 2025 Summer Reading Challenge and sparks a whole new world of imagination for children across Northamptonshire.
The Summer Reading Challenge, produced by the Reading Agency and delivered in partnership with libraries, is promoted in over 250 primary schools across the county and delivered in all 34 libraries in both West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire, and is aimed at getting children 5-11 to read up to six books over the summer.
The full creative team of students were Mira Nagib (Director and Writer), Tom Knibbs (Camera Technician and Sound Engineer), Ethan Taylor (Lead – Lighting), and Karlis Serebrjakovs (Editing and Sound Engineer), with Deputy Head of Subject, Dr Anthony Stepniak leading from the helm as Executive Producer.
Tasked with delivering a video inspired by ‘the great outdoors’ to promote the challenge to schoolchildren, the student production team tapped into their childhoods to communicate the magical connection between storytelling and nature through their camera lens.
With The Summer Reading Challenge having launched at the weekend, it has been a sobering moment for Ethan Taylor. Work on this project will be screened to hundreds of children in the coming weeks.
Watch the video:
Summer Reading Challenge“It has been great to get involved with the project and be a part of achieving the project’s aim, as reading has always been a big part of my life.Ethan Taylor, Project Lead
“Creating the video involved a lot of conversations with the client to make sure we created the best video we could with their needs at the forefront of the project. From a production side it was very nice to try something different from what I had previously been doing for university projects.
“I am very pleased with the final outcome and am proud to have worked on this project, and it will be nice to see what impact this project will have in aiding the Summer Reading Challenge's promotion.”
“The work created by the team of students is nothing short of fantastic, and I’m very impressed with how professionally they have delivered this for Northamptonshire Libraries and Information Service.”Dr Anthony Stepniak, Deputy Head of Subject: Culture – Media, Film, Journalism and Special Effects
“A huge part of what our Library teams do at the University of Northampton is to offer students opportunities to engage in live client-based productions, enabling them to build on skills, understanding and experience to enhance their employability and enable them to develop as independent and informed creative professionals.Cllr James Petter, Deputy Leader of West Northamptonshire Council and Cabinet Member for Local Economy, Culture and Leisure
“The Summer Reading Challenge is one of Northamptonshire Libraries biggest programmes, staff are hugely invested in the challenge and children and families have fun every summer accessing the huge variety of free events offered by libraries across the county as part of the challenge.”
The promotional video will be sent to schools and shared across the LibraryPlus social media pages to encourage children to visit over the summer and enjoy reading through incentives as well as providing the opportunity for them to choose their own reading material and talk about it.
The video aims to capture the magic of childhood; not only showcasing the students’ work and ability but also demonstrating the fantastic collaborative working in Northamptonshire with Irchester Country Park and Digital Northants both supporting the project.