One Direction's Zayn Malik entertains children on CBeebie's Bedtime Stories

Good books and good music are essential parts of a life well-lived and the BBC has just fused the two in one of their CBeebie’s Bedtime Stories featuring celebrities as their narrators. This brand promotes games and learning activities for early education and the series of Bedtime Stories features many notable guest readers, from Tom Hiddleston reading Supertato to David Schwimmer’s rendition of I Had a Sleepy Sloth. Musician Harry Styles took to the Youtube channel two years ago with In Every House on Every Street.

Zayn Takes the Stage

This episode’s guest narrator is another musician. Zayn Malik, who competed individually  in 2010’s The X Factor before being invited to join fellow contestants to form One Direction. He is now a celebrated solo artist with numerous awards to his name.

To the target audience of Bedtime Stories, Zayn is a kind reader positioned next to a teddy bear with a guitar, who introduces the book with a wonderful personal touch. “I love music. It can make you feel beautiful things. It can make you notice beautiful things. And the best thing about music is that it’s for everyone.”

Music Is In Everything, penned by Ziggy Marley and inspired by his famous father Bob, is Zayn’s choice of story and it could not be more appropriate for this narrator. While his reading style is almost conversational, the background track enhances the experience. The story encourages people to find tunes in everything from the birds to the local brooks and encourages children to engage in the wonder of music with the sounds of their daily lives. It even represents a variety of generations and individuals of many backgrounds who unite in a universal experience. It is certainly a message that Bob Marley would have taught with his own works.

Check out Zayn’s recording as well as other options on Youtube or BBC iPlayer.