Literally Magic takes its inspiration from the magic of six children’s books that are part of a summer exhibition at The Lowry. These were combined with the school’s values, community and the spirit of Salford’s young people.

The design was inspired by The Memory Tree by Britta Teckentrup which looks at reminiscence, friendship and the passage of time. 150 pupils worked with Lauren Mullarkey to create glass insects that might live in the orchard at Ordsall Hall, and ghosts, as it is rumoured that the hall is haunted. These are carefully worked into a mosaic on the back of the BookBench that also references Primrose Hill. All pupils at the school, and their parents, were invited to reflect on their memories of Ordsall via drawings, descriptions and poetry. These have been integrated into their own memory oak tree by the school’s artists in residence, Marie Cash.

When asked what books meant to them, the children said they were a “vehicle to visit faraway places” and an opportunity to “lose yourself in a world of wonders”. This BookBench portrays the imaginary worlds we dream about when getting stuck into a good book.

This BookBench is named after the school’s motto. Children from each year responded to the slogan ‘reading can take you anywhere’ and the final design references artwork created by the pupils during their creative design workshop.

Frozen Kingdom takes its inspiration from the class's recent studies of life in the Arctic and Antarctic, exploring the natural world, as well as its history. Of the numerous books they read during their learning, one favourite followed the story of two penguins who adopted an egg in New York Zoo.

The pupils and Emily wanted to create something bright and colourful visually that would represent the cover of Emily's first ever children's book, Find Your Happy, which was published by Walker Books on 2nd June. The idea behind the bench was that it encouraged children to recognise different feelings and emotions and help them find their happy in this funny old world. The back of the bench is filled with words and inspiration from the children based on what they do to 'find their happy'.

The children used the powers of their imagination to create five short stories about the adventures of the local Swinton wildlife. Their stories were about kindness, friendship and teamwork, qualities reflected in the pupils’ characters which have come to life on the colourful BookBench.

The Raven takes its inspiration from supernatural themes of classic children’s books such as Skellig by David Almond and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Poems were another source of inspiration for the pupils, from the classic Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven to their own poems, one comparing people to stars “like diamonds in the night sky”.

During the children's workshop, space and diversity came up as prominent themes. This BookBench shows off a space party, created with their drawings of aliens, planets, and space characters.

The pupils had been studying Shakespeare's Macbeth in preparation for a special performance at the Lowry. Witches’ amulets, that they made as part of their studies, are included in the design as well as their depictions of the atmospheric landscapes in the play.

Willow Tree Primary’s pupils were lucky to be allocated the Elmer BookBench and imagined what he would do if he visited Salford for the day. They drew lots of creative designs, including Elmer being hoisted by a crane and parachuting into the city, which are included on the BookBench.

Take a Leaf Out of our Book is inspired by the pupils’ advocacy for wildlife conservation and how their school’s core values can be found through the joy of reading. It is a celebration of the gardening skills, they learned at RHS Bridgewater, as well as Salford, a place they’re proud to call home.

The children were inspired by their love of fantastical foods and spectacular places in their favourite books, such as The Tiger who came to Tea and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Eccles Cakes were a favourite treat and although they are tasty, the pupil’s decided they weren’t colourful enough.