The series of five stories, Attenborough’s Adventures, is inspired by the wildlife documentary maker's real-life adventures filming on location for the BBC.
Aimed at children up to the age of six, it follows Sir David at various stages of his life, from his early days filming Zoo Quest in the 1950s, up to his debut in virtual reality for 2016’s Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur.
The first interactive story is David and the Gorilla Quest, which sees a young David Attenborough and his camera crew exploring the jungle in search of giant apes. The story re-tells his famous expedition in 1978, when he encountered mountain gorillas at Dian Fossey’s research site in Rwanda as part of the BBC Natural History series, Life on Earth.
David Attenborough filmed in 1978 with the mountain gorillas for his landmark series Life on Earth PHOTO John Sparks and naturepl.com
Children read and play along with the story by helping Sir David to pack his adventure kit, moving jungle plants aside for him and by tracking the gorillas’ path through the jungle.
A further four stories will be released, with Sir David going in search of dinosaurs, dragons, treasure and a hidden city.
‘I am thrilled that we’ve brought to life many fond memories of my exploration of the natural world for young children to enjoy and learn,’ Sir David said.
David Attenborough narrating the new animated series PHOTO BBC and Jonny Keeling
Kay Benbow, controller of CBeebies, said, ‘This wonderful new series is yet another example of CBeebies Storytime helping children and grown-ups enjoy stories together. Each story is brought to life with magical things to touch, swipe and play with, and questions to help develop comprehension skills, so the grown-up and child can enjoy reading, playing and learning together. Sir David has led an extraordinary life, and we’re over the moon that his enthralling tales are now helping children to learn while being inspired by the natural world.’
- The CBeebies Storytime app is free to download on Apple, Android and Kindle Fire devices.
