Pupils at West Thornton Primary, settling in for a regular class to read the usual fairy stories and tales of dungeons and dragons, all intended to delight and ignite their imaginations, got the surprise of their young lives this week when they got a visit from a real-life princess.
Practising their A-Bea-Cs: Princess Beatrice, niece to the King, helped a Year 1 story time class at West Thornton Primary this week. Pic: Aaron Chown/PAWire
Princess Beatrice helped stage a very special story time with Year 1 pupils, courtesy of Oscar’s Book Prize.
The visit celebrated the recent launch of Oscar’s Book Club, where Amazon are donating this year’s shortlisted books to schools and nurseries across the country via the company’s reading volunteer network.
This team of volunteers will also support on-the-ground with group reading sessions to inspire young children through the magic of reading.
Beatrice, ninth in line to the throne and niece to the King, is the Oscar’s Book Prize’s royal patron.
At West Thornton, she read the 2024 winning book, When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth by Sean Taylor and Zehra Hicks, before sitting down with the class to take a look at the other shortlisted books, and find out a little more about the pupils’ own reading habits.
Book worms: staff and pupils at West Thornton gather with Princess Beatrice after their Oscar Book Prize session
Jonathan Owen, headteacher at West Thornton, said: “So much can be taught from picture books and we make sure our children are exposed to a wide range of stories from the very beginning of their school journey.
“One of our school priorities is to ensure that proficient reading skills and a love of reading underpin all learning across our curriculum. We carefully select texts that both faithfully represent our diverse community and serve to broaden children’s imagination.
“The diversity of topics covered in children’s books is greater than ever, and those shortlisted for this year’s Oscar’s Book Prize were no exception to that. We have loved reading them together and it was an absolute delight to have HRH Princess Beatrice visit and read this year’s winning book – it certainly will be a storytime to remember!”
When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books) topped the shortlist of five to take home the £10,000 prize. The book is a fun tale about the intrepid journey of a little dinosaur named Smallasaurus, who simply wants to enjoy her plant-based diet in peace, but goes on a big adventure along the way.
“This witty and vibrant children’s book brings the prehistoric period into the present day, complete with dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes,” according to Amazon.
The award, now in its 11th year, was set up by James Ashton and Viveka Alvestrand – named in memory of their son Oscar, who was three-and-a-half when he died from an undiagnosed heart condition.
For more information about Oscar’s Book Prize, visit www.oscarsbookprize.co.uk and to view all of this year’s shortlisted books alongside a wide selection of children’s books on Amazon, go to amazon.co.uk/oscarsbookprize.
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My eldest boy’s first school! Great to see this.