Discovering Children's Books

Explore centuries of stories, poems and illustrations with Discovering Children's Books. For children, teachers and book-lovers of all ages. A partnership with Seven Stories.

Featured:

Make a pop-up poetry notebook

Bind your own pop-up poetry notebook and follow our fabulous prompts to help you see the world like a poet.
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Notebooks and poetry

Find out why superstar poet Joseph Coelho always keeps a notebook handy. Find out how Joseph works poems out in his notebooks, developing their structure and making lots of changes. Plus have a go at one of Joseph’s poetry techniques.
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Make a miniature book

What’s the smallest book you can think of? Who would you read it with? Learn how to make your own tiny book!
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Axel Scheffler: How to draw a Gruffalo

Follow Axel Scheffler’s process from pencil to paint, as he shows you how to draw your very own Gruffalo. We’ll give you a hint… start with the horns! You’ll be perfecting your own characters in no time.
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Viviane Schwarz: Making a story

Once you’ve got your characters, you can get started on your story. In this clip Viviane Schwarz shows us how she creates an illustration, with lots of colour and collage. Why not grab some scraps of paper and a paintbrush, and see where your imagination takes you?
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Pop-up Book technique: Theatre book

Imagine you’re eagerly sitting in the audience of a glamorous theatre. When the curtains are pulled back, who do you want to see on the stage? With this activity you can make your very own 3D pop up theatre and set the scene!
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Interview with Michael Rosen

How do you dream up new ideas? ‘I try to think back to when I was a child’. Read on for more writing secrets from poet and author Michael Rosen.
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Create an imaginary school

Dream up ideas and write a story about an imaginary school. It could be a fantastical place: a school in a castle, one on another planet, one that bounces or disappears or that floats in a bubble.
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Go deeper: Food in children’s books

What would it be like to swim in a river of chocolate? What would you do if you stumbled upon a sumptuous feast, only to find it was pretend? Explore the temptation and magic of food in books.
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Create your own comic book character

What sort of characters do you want to see in a comic book? Plan, develop and draw your own characters with this guide.
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What makes a hero super?

Decide what makes your hero super and make your own superhero using just pens, paper, glue and scissors.
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Big and small

Write a story about being miniature in a massive world, or a story in which you’re tall enough to reach the clouds.
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