what is a bookshelf other than a treasure chest for a ......what is a bookshelf other than a...

What is a bookshelf other than a treasure chest for a curious mind…

We may all read the same book, but we don’t read it in the same way. The

journey that literature can take us on is just as unique as the person reading

the words on a page; this individual experience is what we wanted to

convey inside our ‘Old Curiosity Shop’ of imagination.

We wanted each child to have the chance to build the world they visualise

when they travel through the pages of their most adored and treasured

books. After an incredibly successful and highly inventive ‘Book in a Box’

project on World Book Day in 2016, we decided to elevate the creativity

and unleash the children’s imaginations in the most quirky and peculiar way

possible. The children chose from unusual vessels to present their favourite

books. These vessels were then displayed in our summer house that we

magically transformed into ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’ inspired by the classic

novel by Charles Dickens. We were then able to channel the theme of

‘cabinets of curiosity’ by filling the shed with vintage, unique and eclectic

treasures alongside the children’s creations.

In order for us to maximise pupil involvement we challenged pupils both in

and out of school. At home they were asked to let their creativity overflow

in order to produce their unique story vessel. One of our parents said

‘We’ve just loved this weekend; the project really brought us together as a

family. We had lots of fun looking through books and spent real quality

time creating the shoe box. It’s been just wonderful.’ Vessels included jars,

books, shoes, boxes, frames and matchboxes.

Within school, each class produced a collective piece of curiosity based on

their favourite class story. These included Harry Potter, Owl Babies, Far

Away Tree, The Magic Mirror, The BFG, The Snail and the Whale and

Grandpa’s Great Escape. The children’s enthusiasm during the day was

infectious. All the children were gushing with excitement. One pupil said

‘This is the most awesome thing we’ve ever done, I just LOVE Harry Potter!

I really can’t wait to see the finished room; I bet it will look magical.’

Another child was overheard saying ‘Oh my word, the children’s creations

are so amazing. It makes me want to read all of the stories. How long do

you think it will take me? Do you think I’ll have enough time to get through

them all?’

‘The Old Curiosity Shop’ was accessible to all of our children and their

families and was even opened up to the local and wider community.

Parents, staff and children spoke so passionately about the project that we

soon had people asking if they could come and look at the famous ‘Shop of

Books’. We even ended up on our local BBC radio station talking about the

impact the project had on our pupils.

In the words of Alice, we have, quite simply, become ‘Curiouser and

Curiouser!’