This year our theme for World Book Day was ‘Get Comfy and Read’. This featured pyjamas, ‘oodies’, and other comfy home clothes, as well as children dressed up in their favourite book character costumes. The morning was full of exciting and diverse book related activities for all to enjoy.
The Acorns children were ready to ‘Get Comfy and Read’ and loved coming to school in a variety of cosy home clothes. They enjoyed meeting Mrs Wareham, our inspirational World Book Day visitor, who shared pictures of places where she had read stories and talked about the people she had met along the way. In the afternoon, Year 3 came to share books with the Acorns and enjoy reading them together.
Mrs Wareham spoke passionately to each year group about her work as a journalist and her travels around the world. She highlighted the importance of sharing stories to raise awareness for those who can’t tell stories for themselves. The children began planning their own stories and thought carefully of what others would think.
The Year 3 children and staff were treated to an author visit at the Holroyd Theatre. They were entertained by the wonderful author, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, as he told stories from his childhood and talked about moments and memories that inspired his entertaining children’s books. They even enjoyed some magic tricks which featured in his latest book, The Wonder Brothers.
Year 4 and 5 were pleased to experience some fine dining at a Book Bistro! They made their selection from a three-course menu of World Book Day books past and present, sat and delighted in reading their books whilst they were served drinks and snacks by their teachers.
The Junior pupils took part in ‘Music and Stories’. They began with the Billy Goats Gruff, in which four musicians composed a short tune to represent the three goats and the troll, whilst a narrator read the story. The tunes could be altered according to the action of the story. This led to some independent group work; this time, smaller groups made up their own stories and told them with musical sound effects. There were some very imaginative ideas, involving hamsters, monsters, salmon, cats, unicorns….and other such eclectic characters!
Year 4, 6 and 8 had a choice of creating watercolour bookmarks inspired by illustrations, characters, or objects from their favourite book. The children were able to connect with literature visually, allowing them to engage with the story in a more hands-on way, fostering creativity and imagination.
Year 6 were inspired by quotes from a very famous book, the bible. The children discovered that the bible is actually a library itself, made up of 66 books. They learnt how to find quotations by playing a quiz where they had to find the book, chapter and verse. They then looked up some motivational quotations using reference skills, selected a favourite quotation and transformed it into a bookmark.
Year 7 and 8 combined Art and English with Blackout Poetry. The children used their creativity with both art and words to make short but meaningful poems that told a story. This activity allowed us to recycle and upcycle old and damaged library books instead of throwing them away. They also made book art chickens and mice to continue our recycling mission. Lastly, the Year 7 students created keyhole scenes from their favourite books to wrap up our regular reading lessons.
All of this, and plenty of reading for enjoyment throughout the day, made for a very successful, fun and inspiring Packwood World Book Day. Many thanks to Mrs Charlotte Jackson-Hutt, Head of English, for her inspiration and organisation, as well as all the English staff and other wonderful staff members who supported the event.
