The Nowhere Box at Gomersal Primary School

In my first picture book, The Nowhere Box, George uses a cardboard box to go Nowhere. At first, Nowhere is an empty place but George soon fills it with all kinds of things and uses it to go to some amazing places.

The children at Gomersal Primary School in West Yorkshire have been reading The Nowhere Box in class and imagining where they might like to go if they went Nowhere, and what they would hope to find there. They were kind enough to send me some pictures of their ‘Nowhere Land’ creations. Here are just a few of my favourites…

Finley took the Nowhere Box into deep space, with an alien on the moon and some pretty wild space scenery to keep things interesting.

Taylan’s ‘Nowhere Land’ features dinosaurs… I really like the one with the green stripes.

Jack turned the Nowhere Box into a hot air balloon – what a fantastic idea! – and used it to fly over the ocean.

Iona decided that if she could go Nowhere and fill it with anything she wanted she’d explore under the sea. looks colourful!

Lucas drew himself inside his own Nowhere Box, ready to press one of the buttons to take him on new adventures. I wonder where he’s going….

Thanks to everyone who drew a picture, I wish I could post them all, and thank you very much for sharing them with me!

Are you a teacher who would like to use The Nowhere Box or one of my other books as part of your teaching? Although I’m not available for school visits right now I’ll happily be involved in any other ways I can – responding to the children’s work and things like that – so do get in touch if you’d like to chat things over in more detail.

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A Few More Letters From Selby Primary School

As promised, here’s another batch of letters from the kids at Selby Primary School…

Thanks again to everyone who sent one, you guys certainly know how to write a good letter. I wish I could share them all!

Letters from Selby Community Primary School

I’ve just received some fantastic thank-you letters from the kids at Selby Community Primary School, following their work on ‘The Nowhere Box.’ They decorated their letters with pictures and also drew their own portraits of the family from the book. I’ll be posting up a selection today and tomorrow for you to take a look…

The Nowhere Box at Selby Community Primary School

In my first picture book, The Nowhere Box, George uses a cardboard box to transport him Nowhere to escape his annoying younger brothers. Nowhere soon becomes a cardboard world of adventure and George has a great time until he begins to feel that the very thing he was escaping is the very thing Nowhere is missing…

The kids at Selby Community Primary School have been reading The Nowhere Box in class and making corrugated cardboard collages in the style of the book, taking George on some incredible new adventures. They were kind enough to share these with me and I am very pleased to be able to share them in turn, here with you (click on the images to enlarge).

Let’s go Nowhere…

Leona and Madison sent George to the moon. I love the pun – ‘spacetacular’!

In the book, George fails to find any dragons, though he does go looking. Sean and Lewis have remedied that by creating this fire-breathing monster. I’m glad they also gave George a sword and shield so he can look after himself.

Sam (great name) has provided George with a colourful cardboard vehicle. Nice work!

Martin sent George somewhere magical, and he looks like he’s having a great time. I love the multi-coloured arch.

Anna, Chloe and Shannan have upped the adventure and got George back in touch with nature in this scene. He looks like he’s about to go exploring a forest…

I love what Lewis and Ryan have done with their composition, especially the little blue windows along the bottom. Brilliant work, guys.

Teagan’s collage is a candy-inspired adventure sure to appeal to anyone passionate about sweets.

Noah has extended George’s rocket-based adventure, taking him to ever greater heights. ‘Epic’ is a great description!

Mateusz and Tomas have included the entire solar system in their collage – impressive.

Wayne and Harry have also sent George ever further spacewards. I really like the little planet Earth in the corner, showing just how far he’s journeyed.

Nowhere is prehistoric for Brandon and Matt, who took George all the way back to the dinosaurs. I’m glad he’s still smiling, some of those dinosaurs look pretty mean…

Alana and Charlye also took George back in time, and even let him hitch a ride on a dinosaur taller than the treetops. I bet the view was magical.

James and Jamie sent George swimming with the dolphins – or is that a shark? Uh-oh…

Thanks SO much to all the kids for their amazing collages. There’s real imagination on display, I’ve loved seeing all the new places George has been. A letter to the class is on its way to you, as well as signed copies of The Nowhere Box.

Are you a teacher who would like to use The Nowhere Box as part of your teaching? Although I’m not available for school visits right now I’ll happily be involved in any other ways I can – responding to the children’s work and things like that – so do get in touch if you’d like to chat things over in more detail.

The Tell-Tale Start

With Once Upon a Midnight Eerie out now, author Gordon McAlpine has been been catching up with some Poe Boys fans in California. This fantastic ‘cover version’ of the front cover for The Tell-Tale start was drawn by Heather. Nice work!