Kells Infant School in Whitehaven opens Gruffalo themed library

On Friday, September 23, pupils were there to open to new library which has been recently converted from a storage cupboard. 

The school teaches children aged between three and seven and to help them enjoy it even more it has the theme of a forest with a specific emphasis on the popular children's text, The Gruffalo. 

Headteacher, Wendy Figes, said: "We realised that we didn't have a working library in school and that was having an impact on the children enjoying their reading as much as they should be. 

"We know that reading is really important so we earmarked the space within the school that we could convert into a library at the back end of last summer. It was used as a cupboard and storage room prior to this. 

Headteacher Wendy Figes reading with the children (Image: Newsquest)

"We cleared it all out and then decided that we wanted to make it a reading forest. So, we used that as a theme and incorporated The Gruffalo story. We find that this is an important book for children, and they really enjoy the rhythms and rhymes and characters and language. 

"We also work with the local library service, and they came and looked at the books that we originally head and helped us to sort them through and keep the really good quality texts in our libraries. 

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"We've also disseminated some other ones within the classroom environments for reading within the class itself and there's some that we're using at lending libraries at both ends of the school both in early years and in Key Stage 1, so that parents and children can share stories at home."

Children enjoy the new library (Image: Newsquest)

Nicola Pennington, early years and reading leader, said: "We did need a library space, but we wanted to create somewhere that the children could enjoy the books in a really lovely atmosphere. 

"I hope that children will really enjoy the new space. I've seen them walking past and peeping in. We've timetabled so they all have the chance to come into the library a few times a week."

Children reading the new selection of books (Image: Newsquest)