Enchanted schools

Traditional tales of far away lands, populated by princesses, knights, dragons and witches, captivate the imaginations of children of all ages. From the nursery stories of Sleeping Beauty to the epic Lord of the Rings, we all love to be lured into fantasy worlds. So, using an Enchanted theme for your Book Fair is guaranteed to get everyone enthusiastic and flocking to the bookcases!

Subhead: The build up
Creating a display to announce the arrival of the Book Fair will spark everyone's interest. Try to find a space in a very public place where everyone is sure to see it. Use appropriate books from the library or classrooms and build up a display around them. Perhaps it could be a large outline of a castle with turrets. Invite children to add to the display - you'll soon have plenty of princess hats, knights armour and toy characters (make sure they are labelled with child's name and class).

Subhead: Competition fun
Simple, but fun, competitions are the most effective.
Before the Fair:
Princess hats: supply children with a half circle of card with instructions how to roll it into a cone to make a tall hat. Invite the children to decorate the hat how they wish. You may like to suggest streamers attached to the top of the hat, a veil hanging from it and of course lots of sparkly, glitter and jewels!
A Knights Shield: send home a piece of card with an outline template of a shield. Encourage the children to decorate these with patterns and symbols. Older children can research symbols used in medieval times.
Display the competition entries at the Fair and announce that prizes for the competition winners will be awarded during the Book Fair - it's a great way to encourage people to come to the Fair.
During the Fair:
A dressing up day is a must for this theme. Encourage all the Book Fair helpers to dress up in character every day of the Fair. If your Book Fair is open after school, send the dressed up helpers out onto the playground when parents are arriving to collect their children from school to encourage them to come in and see your Enchanted Land of books!

Subhead: Decorating the Book Fair
Create the feeling that you are walking into an enchanted forest with entrances turned into trees. Brown tree trunks made of cardboard can be put on the doorways with fronds of green leaves hanging from the top of the door. The walls of the area you are using could become castles - either medieval, fortified ones for Knights or ethereal turreted ones for princesses. One area could become a dark dragon's cave or perhaps infant classes could create a large, fiery red, collage dragon. Other magical creatures, such as Unicorns, could cover the walls.

Sense of atmosphere
Background music can really help to set the scene. Atmospheric music that creates a feeling of suspense or wonder would work perfectly for an enchanted theme. Try Dvorak's Brave New World or Symphony of Enchanted Lands II by Rhapsody (an Italian epic metal band: 'Listening to their albums will instantly conjure up visions of vast fantasy landscapes, peopled by all manner of creatures, pleasant and wicked and degrees in between, moving in accord to the dramatic and very filmic music').

Bubble, bubble...
Any enchanted place needs a wicked witch. Why not ask a couple of volunteers to set up a potions table at the Fair for the children to experiment with. It's bound to be a big attraction! You only need a few basics such as bubbles, vinegar and baking soda and food colourings (as well as lots of clear plastic cups) to be able to create all sorts of evil sounding potions. Children will love dreaming up names for their potions and even making a spell to go with them!

Subhead: Back in the classroom
Creative writing
The enchanted theme offers many opportunities for creative writing. But before you start any writing activities, give the children lots of opportunities to read and talk about traditional tales, fairy tales and even films you may have seen. The latest Shrek film is bound to be mentioned!

Story starters
Offer the children some story starters.
Imagine yourself in an enchanted forest. What do you see? What do you hear? What can you smell? Who are you? What is that coming through the trees? How do you feel?
The forest cleared and there, by a stream stood a large black horse. On his back sat a Knight ....

Research skills
Encourage the children to find out more about Knights, Princesses or Mythical Creatures, using a range of information sources.

Titles to look out for:
George and the Dragon by Chris Wormell (Red Fox)
Lullabyhullaballoo by Mick Inkpen (Hodder Children's Books)
The Barefoot Book of Knights story book and CD (Barefoot Books)
Knights (Dorling Kindersley Eye Witness Guides)
Knights - Horrible Histories (Scholastic)