Fantasy Fiction - A World of Pure Imagination

It seemed like just an ordinary day at Redmaids’ High Junior School. Girls filed into assembly and sat down, just as usual. But this school day was about to start a little differently. Because our Library Challenge for the Summer Term was about to begin… 

A red laser started to pick out certain girls. It appeared as a red dot on their chests, roving through the year groups, making its own mind up where it went next. What was it? Where was it coming from? Who or what was controlling it?  

Then bubbles drifted into the hall, some rising and some falling, some resting and some popping. Where had they come from? Who might be inside them - friend or foe? Should we touch them or turn away?  

Was this really happening in the Junior School Hall? Or had we mysteriously entered a whole new world? A hiss of smoke poured over Year 3, enveloped Year 4, drew its tendrils around Year 5 and beckoned to Year 6. Was this a portal to a strange new universe…? 

As this Library Challenge launch assembly demonstrated, fantasy fiction transports us to a world of pure imagination. Sometimes we find magical elements in the world we know - like the umbrella that brings Mary Poppins to Cherry Tree Lane. In other stories, we’re joined by fairies, wizards, witches, mermaids and unicorns. We may get to test out superpowers. Maybe we’ll make a journey into space. Or maybe, just maybe, we’ll be swept into a whole new universe.  

To support our Library Challenge, we have been privileged to meet three authors this term. Ash Bond transported us to the Cosmic Realm when she visited us to promote her Peregrine Quinn book series. Ash draws on mythical characters to populate the world she has created. The result is an exciting adventure through mysterious portals, using a dazzling collection of magical tech gadgets! B. Ware, author of Warning: May Contain Dragons, extended her initial talk by joining Year 3 and Year 4 pupils for writing workshops. The girls loved getting creative with B, who got stuck in facilitating small group activities. And Tola Okogwu introduced us to superpowers in her book series about Onyeka, at the same time as exploring Nigerian culture.  

Our girls embraced the Fantasy Fiction challenge with vim and vigour! Their Reading Records include a wide range of fantasy writing, from classics like C. S. Lewis’ Narnia and Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising, to contemporary favourites like Pages and Co by Anna James and the Nevermore series by Jessica Townsend. Over forty girls read four or more fantasy novels and some girls went on to create their own dazzlingly detailed world of pure imagination. Giant bubble wands and book tokens were awarded as Challenge prizes in our Celebration Assembly. Well done, girls!