‘Gloriumptious’ - something glorious and wonderful is an apt description of Faringdon Library’s Junior Book Club outing to the Roald Dahl Museum on Saturday, 20th April. This was truly a community affair bringing together Faringdon Library, the Faringdon Community Bus and Faringdon’s young book wormers.
You will not find ‘gloriumptious’ in the dictionary, unless, of course, you read the Roald Dahl Dictionary, (published by Oxford University Press) but the author was famous for making up the most ridiculous, yet funny adjectives. Here is another: ‘crodsquinkled’ - something that is hopeless.
There is nothing, however, hopeless about the Roald Dahl Museum. It is a treasure trove covering Dahl’s boyhood, his time in the Airforce, his musings and what inspired him to write such creative and timeless stories in his ‘writing hut.’ The hut is replicated in the museum and a great attraction, as is the opportunity to sit in a replica of his chair, along with a writing board, whilst the story centre features numerous dressing up opportunities and craft activities.
Here’s what the children had to say:
Hannah Hickinbotham enthused, “I really enjoyed going to the Roald Dahl Museum with the book club. It was an incredibly fun outing and I loved it all but especially the gallery about ‘Flying Solo.’ I also loved seeing how ‘sparky’ I was on the Roald Dahl quiz and how I compared to Roald Dahl‘s characters in height.”
Jacob Moore added: “I had a brilliant day looking at Roald Dahl’s life and there were several interactive things to do. I enjoyed making a movie and dressing up as Willy Wonka and making a Roald Dahl hut in the crafting room … the chocolate doors smelt like chocolate!”
Elsie Hodgson commented: “The museum had lots of different rooms with information about Roald Dahl's life and his books. There were many interactive points around the museum, such as chances to dress up, find out what Roald Dahl character you were the same height as and even sit in a replica aeroplane. It was interesting and exciting, especially the stop motion making area in the activity centre. There were lots of fun activities and I had a wonderful day.”
What helped make the trip possible - and affordable - was a ‘book and bake’ sale held at the library and controlled by the children. Many book club members contributed their own cookies, brownies, and fairy cakes. Heather was one: “I loved selling my cookies to people I knew. It meant we could go to the Roald Dahl Museum. This was fun! We measured ourselves on a height chart in the museum and Sophie and I were the same height as Sophie from the BFG.” She added: “My favourite room was the Charlie and Chocolate Factory Room - it smelt of chocolate!”
Annette Farr, a volunteer at the library responsible for the book club with the help of mums Cheryl and Cath, said: “Our members were totally engaged and excited with contributing bakes and running the ‘book and bake’ table. Enough money was raised to cover the cost of hiring the community bus. A wonderful result.”
The Junior Book Club is for 8 - 11-year-olds, but as Annette points out, “We would never want to turn away an avid reader who is not yet 8.” She stresses “The children’s book club, is their book club and they decide what we do in our meetings, be it the focus of a particular genre of books, a favourite author, or illustrator. Our sessions also include a popular craft element, such as making bookmarks or pop-up cards as well as an ongoing project. The most recent was compiling an A-to-Z alphabet animal book which members illustrated and wrote.”
Just a reminder that Faringdon Library offers a number of activities for children and adults including:
- Weekly LEGO Club.
- Adult and Junior Book Clubs …both meet monthly at the library.
- Pokemon Club, Friday’s alternate weeks.
- Summer Reading Challenge starts July till September with participant certificates and medals.
- Author Talks.
- Seasonal Craft for children and families during holidays and half terms.
- Rhyme Times Tuesdays and Fridays for babies and tots.
- School Visits.
- Rainbows Visits.
- OneVision Social Group.
- Weekly Coffee Morning.
For more information visit Faringdon Library’s website faringdon.library@oxfordshire.gov.uk | Call 01367 240311 | Facebook.com/FaringdonLibrary
