Author & illustrator brings characters to life at The Olive School

Our pupils got in the mood for World Book Day with a visit from acclaimed author and illustrator Karin Littlewood.

Karin visited our school, which just happens to be down the road from her home, to work with pupils in Year 3. Bringing in a life-sized illustration of her most well known character Immi, Karin engaged our young pupils in storytelling workshops and offered her tips on bringing characters to life through pictures.

Karin Littlewood, who lives in Stoke Newington, said, “My book Immi is about friendship across the world. While I was working in Qatar, I met someone with links to The Olive School and we found that we were from the same area. That chance meeting led to me spending an absolutely lovely day in the school sharing a message about friendship.

“I highlighted to pupils the power of illustration as a universal language – if you can draw, you can communicate with anyone, regardless of their language. I talked to them about my work, giving them an insight into the ‘behind the scenes’ of a book. I hope that the next time they pick up a book, they will see it differently.

“I work with schools all over the world, but it was really nice to visit a school so local to me. I hope to visit The Olive School again.”

Year 3 pupil Rumaysah Abdi Habib commented, “I thought it was really fun and educational because if you want to write books, you could learn how to illustrate them. My favourite part was when we got to colour and illustrate our story circles.”

Karin Littlewood’s visit was part of our activities for World Book Day, a global celebration of storytelling and reading. Held annually in early March, World Book Day sees schoolchildren and teachers alike dress up as their favourite characters from well known tales and share stories they love.

At The Olive School pupils will take part in a World Book Day parade, with our Pupil Council having the responsibilty of selecting a winner with the most imaginative costume. Pupils will also create their own storybooks complete with illustrations, and develop a story box resource for every class.

Lina Aziz, our Literacy Lead, added, “World Book Day is such a big event in our school calendar. It’s a fabulous celebration of reading and a great way to engage our pupils in sharing the stories they enjoy most through dressing up as characters.”

Added By: Olive Hackney | Date Added: 27th Feb 2018 | Posted In:

The Olive School, Hackney The Olive School, Hackney

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