Gruffalo meets Tom at Danetree for World Book Day

Characters created by two popular children’s authors starred in Danetree Primary’s World Book Day celebrations today (Thursday 7 March).

Early Years and Key Stage 1 pupils at the Ewell-based school were inspired by the creations of Julia Donaldson, whose much-loved classics include The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom, while Key Stage 2 enjoyed activities based around Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates books.

“The choice of Tom Gates stemmed from wanting to ensure that boys in Key Stage 2 were fully engaged with World Book Day, and we know that Tom Gates is a popular series among boys,” said Rafaella Shearmur, Lead Practitioner and Literacy Leader at Danetree, which is part of the GLF Schools Multi-Academies Trust.

“Throughout the day, children engaged in a series of activities relating to Julia Donaldson’s books or Tom Gates by Liz Pichon,” she continued. “In Key Stage 2, for instance, children had the chance of writing a letter to their class teacher to give an excuse for not doing their homework in the same style of Tom Gates.

“They were also allowed to doodle on the page to ensure that their writing looked similar to the page of a Tom Gates book. They also designed a colourful front cover for their writing in the style of Liz Pichon’s books.”

Other activities across the school included an author visit, a Book Fair, and the opportunity to read with a different class from another year group.

Children from Nursery to Year 6 were also encouraged to dress as characters from Julia Donaldson’s and Liz Pichon’s books, or other fictional favourites of their choice, while members of staff donned costumes too.

“One of my priorities as Literacy Leader at Danetree is to ensure that World Book Day is a meaningful learning experience for children,” added Mrs Shearmur. “World Book Day is extremely important for our school community, as it is a great opportunity to celebrate the love of books and reading.

“We all know that reading can change lives and offer people better life chances, and this is what we want for all our children. We want children to be passionate readers who will choose to read for pleasure in their own time.

“World Book Day offers a channel for us to do just that.”