Beasts, keys and sketching

World Book Day with Creeping Toad

World Book Day 2024  (Thursday 8th March)in the Creeping Toad ponds stretched into 3 days of lively stories, conversations about books, creating stories and unfolding adventures

In Russett School in Northwich, we picked up that wonderful book, The Lonely Beast by Chris Judge and retold the story with found objects, puppets and wild stories. We unrolled stories by class on long sheets of paper, drew on these, wrote on these, built journeys and homes, dens and parties on top of these and parties with multiple beasts!

In Springfield Primary School, Burnley, there were stories told, books discussed, but more than anything there were ideas poured onto paper. I unpacked boxes of “treasures” and we held them, talked about them, drew them and unravelled wonderful histories From Reception to Year 6, everyone was involved and we held an afterschool storytelling session for families. Running through several sessions were a big bunch of keys (thank you English Heritage!) and, for me, the poems that grew with the keys is a lovely reflection of these days

These are the keys

the wizard made,

the witch lost,

the King wants,

the pirates stole,

the child found,

that I’m holding.

 

These are the keys

that lock the door,

that open the chest,

that close the shackles, 

that clear the way,

that set us free.