‘A book is a gift you can open again and again’ (Garrison Keillor)

Amid all the glittery excitement and festive feasting, please remember to make time for a story or two – maybe you will be lucky enough to unwrap a good book for Christmas.

Over the past 6 weeks, pupils in Year 5 Cassowary and Kookaburra Class have been reading, exploring and reviewing six new picture books chosen by the School Library Service for Key Stage 2 children to enjoy. Together we have considered the artistic style of the illustrations in each book and thought about how the pictures help to enhance their understanding of the story.

Throughout Hampshire, Year 5 pupils have been reading these books and have now voted for their personal favourite. The overall winner is ‘The Café at the Edge of Woods’. This is the story of Rene, who dreamed of fine cuisine.  So she saved up every bean, then built a building beam by beam… the café at the edge of the woods.