AND THE LITTLE ONE SAID: Teacher Caroline Harland with pupils Emily Thompson, Sophie Hewitson, Oliver Clarke, Ella Walton, Toren Marks, Hal Houghton and Millie Fletcher on their giant storytelling bed
AND THE LITTLE ONE SAID: Teacher Caroline Harland with pupils Emily Thompson, Sophie Hewitson, Oliver Clarke, Ella Walton, Toren Marks, Hal Houghton and Millie Fletcher on their giant storytelling bed

STAINDROP Primary School’s activities for World Book Day centred around a giant story-telling bed.

The brainchild of English teacher Caroline Harland, the bed was fashioned from parts of the school stage covered with a massive patchwork blanket borrowed from Richmond’s Georgian Theatre.

Ms Harland said: “Each class is having a storytelling session on the bed. The children are dressed in their pyjamas so it is like a bed time story.

“The children love it – they couldn’t believe it when they saw the bed.”

Clues have been placed around the bed in the school hall which hint at who it belongs to.

Some of the children have suggested it might belong to the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother or Mary Poppins.

As part of the World Book Day theme of “Share a Story” pupils from the school visited Waterstones and selected seven books which they have shortlisted for their own Staindrop Book Awards.

Books by authors Kes Gray, David Litchfield, Emily Haworth-Booth and Ian Fletcher are among the authors selected for the shortlist.

Ms Harland said: “We have tweeted all the authors and some of them have responded saying how pleased they are to be on the shortlist.”

The children are now hoping the winning author will visit their school to collect their award.

World Book Day was founded by the United Nations to promote reading, publishing and copyright.