GODS AND MONSTERS BOOK WEEK

The morning dawned bright, sunny and bitingly crisp as Arnold House geared up for another day. The forecourt was clean, white stones gleaming in the early morning light –and a Roman Centurion was marching up and down, guarding the school.

OK, so not just another day – World Book Day 2023!

A few minutes later the gates opened and the Headmaster arrived, gloriously (and daringly, considering the temperature!) attired in a toga and laurel wreath, greeting his guard with a casual ‘Salve’ before welcoming an amazing cavalcade of disguised pupils into the school. Boys (and parents) did the school proud, showing what ingenuity can create with a little time, thought and effort. Did we expect a Hydra? Or the amazing creation that was Poseidon? Or a horde of Roman soldiers vying with the Potters to be the most popular costume? No. But every single outfit was brilliant – how about a Year 8 as the Oxford English Dictionary and his little brother as the Mini Oxford English Dictionary! Staff got just as inventive, so a dragon flew, a flamingo flapped and Goldilocks made sure everyone got just the right porridge.

But hang on – that was just one day out of seven. What about the rest? Well, after many years of not celebrating WBD it was wonderful to find the event welcomed this year – and not just welcomed but embraced and extended in true Arnold House style.

Planning started way back in the autumn term and as soon as we fixed on Gods and Monsters (AH Goes Classical) I contacted Caroline Lawrence (Classicist and brilliant writer and speaker) and she agreed to be our Writer-in-Residence for three days, bringing all her knowledge, her fun (and her sponge on a stick) to our Book Week. Caroline spoke to almost every year group, spent evenings judging the main competition, signed hundreds of books, had tea with her two biggest fans and was tireless. She brought an enthusiasm for stories – both reading and writing them, that encouraged all she spoke to, regardless of age.

We needed more. A Roman Centurion? Of course. A storyteller who specialises in the Classical world? A brilliant find was just that – Katy Cawkwell. She brought Greek stories to Loudoun Road, Story-Bag tales to Marlborough Place and a stunning version of Sigurd and Fafnir, the Norse legends that inspired Tolkien and Wagner, to an after-school event for Year 8 and their parents, one with themed cupcakes as part of a proper afternoon tea.

More? Well, there were competitions, not just for the best dressed (boys and staff), but also for the best entry to the Create Your Own Mythological God or Monster – a theme that inspired some wonderfully creative entries – and over 125 of them! There was also a hugely successful fundraising day in aid of Refugee Education UK raising over £6,000 and a Book Drive for a partner school in Hackney. The week was packed!

But I’m almost forgetting what was, almost, my favourite event- the Storytime Sleepover. Years 1&2 were invited to bring in carefully labelled toys who would stay safely in the library overnight, where I would read them a story. Not precious ones that were needed in anyone’s bed, but ones brave enough to come out and meet the Library Puffins, Pusheen and Ms Clanger. On the Monday the toys arrived, big ones, little ones, fluffy ones and fluffier ones – all left carefully in the library, the process overseen by a band of Year 8s. Yes, I did read them a story (there is possibly evidence on Instagram...) and they all listened very attentively. The next day boys came and collected their friends as well as a copy of the book I had read –the reuniting of boy and toy was a joy to watch!

So why all of this? All this work, this chaos (controlled, of course!) this energy? Well, the more fun that children get through reading the more likely they are to pick up a book, and then another book and so on. Reading is vital for all-round academic success; it underpins all that I do in Scholarship lessons and apparently even helps you to live longer. Book Week’s main aim was to foster that fun, and through that fun to encourage curiosity, literary risk-taking, experimentation, empathy and aspiration – all from picking up a storybook. Books are portals, not just to fun and excitement, but to other lives and places – something we could all benefit from in this world.

Leonie Flynn Librarian