Preparations are well underway for a special new library at Bere Alston Primary Academy in Bere Alston.
A team of volunteers have been busy painting through the school summer holidays to create the Atlantic Rainforest Library.
Anne Crozier, retired farmer and artist who lives just outside the village, has come up with the designs for the other volunteers to paint.
These include Tamar Valley scenes and much-loved characters from children’s books. After hours of work, the project is nearly complete.
The library will be opened by well-known children’s author Ian Whybrow – who created classic Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs – on Monday, September 9.
A local benefactor has paid for the former classroom to be transformed after learning that the primary school had no library.
Dr Frances Howard, one of the leaders of the project, said: “A local benefactor approached me and said do you know of anything the school needs, because I would like to support it because my brother, father and uncles all went to Bere Alston Primary School.
“I replied that they needed a library. Up until this point, the library had consisted of two bookshelves along the corridor, so investment was desperately needed to help the children on their reading adventure.”
New books are being funded by the Maynard Trust, the trust which provides extras for the school. These have been obtained via bookshop Book Stop in Tavistock, which has supplied them at a preferential rate to help the project. The project has also been supported with good deals by Tavy Carpets and paint suppliers Shields.
Teacher at the school Sara Pike has been coordinating the project, liaising between the school and the wider community, as has Caroline Clark, who has a background in theatre production.
Unusual ideas include broom handles used in threes to create a frame to store cushions for story-time. Local artists have contributed hand-painted cushions and hand crafted birds that have been used to create a mobile.
Anne said: “We knew we wanted to do it on a woodland theme and I suggested our local woodland is the Atlantic rainforest so the theme came from that. Then we wanted to include characters from children’s books. I had to learn some of the newer characters – I knew all of the traditional ones! I have made sure all the characters have a book in their hand.”
She said she had enlisted support for the painting from all four art groups of which she is a member, in Walkhampton, Buckland Monachorum, Bere Ferrers and Bere Alston.
“It has been nice to be involved in the community with this project and broaden my outreach a lot more.”
The library will be kept under wraps when the children come back to school – ready for the grand opening when Ian Whybrow and a group of children will open the doors and explore it for the first time.
No mobile phones will be allowed in the library, and the big screen that used to hang on the wall has been moved to another classroom.
“We wanted a magical atmosphere that would entice children into future adventures in reading,” said Frances.
