Local artist Daniel Fromings agreed to paint the once ordinary-looking library so the walls are now covered in beautiful masterpieces of many of our favourite books and characters, including The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, Matilda by Roald Dahl, Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan and Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne.
 
Accompanying each of these heart-warming illustrations is a quote from the book, which has inspired many to pick up a book and read. In addition to the new paintings, a selection of vibrantly coloured bean bags and a multi-coloured sofa have been arranged in the library to make it a more relaxing experience.
 
Reepham Primary School acting head teacher Catherine Ogle made the decision to repaint the library as she had always wanted book characters on the library walls. “Now that the walls have been painted, the children are more inclined to come in and pick up a book,” she commented. “The children can relax, be inspired and read.”
 
Mr Fromings, the “miracle worker” who painted the library, worked with teachers and children from the school to put together this amazing project; it took him more than 60 hours to decorate the whole library.
 
The Alex Rider (Anthony Horowitz) logo took the longest as there were lots of different tones to use. The Boy Overboard (Morris Gleitzman) artwork was one of the hardest as there weren’t any illustrations he could use from the book. Instead the artist had to get images from online sources and put these together to make one big picture.
 
“My favourite picture is the dragon (Beast Quest) because it is really nice and gives a good impression of the character,” said Mr Fromings, “but also because I just like dragons.”
 
He revealed that this is not the first time he’s painted the library: in 1998 when he was a pupil at Reepham Primary School, each class had to vote for their favourite book character and his class voted for Matilda. Each of the classes then got to paint their chosen character on the library walls and so consequently Mr Fromings helped paint Matilda.
 
Unfortunately, however, when the library was rebuilt, his artwork was painted over. Now he has returned to paint in the library once more, replacing what was lost.
 
Mark Farrar, principal of Reepham High School & College, officially opened the library and said he was delighted with what he saw. He thought the furniture looked “great and comfy” and that there was a “fantastic range of books”.
 
“Reading is fun and enjoyable,” Mr Farrar continued, “and if you have pictures of stories then you are inspired to read.” He particularly liked the Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling) quote (as did Mrs Ogle) because it is quite moving and stuck in his mind. He also quite liked the picture of Matilda.
 
Mr Farrar hoped the artwork and furniture will make a big impact on the way pupils use the library and that it sends out a sense of fun. He believed the library’s new look is more welcoming and he would definitely consider having paintings like Reepham Primary’s at the high school.
 
As a way to let pupils at Reepham Primary visit the library more frequently, the school has introduced the Year 6s to library monitoring. Every day of the week at lunch time a small group of Year 6s will monitor the library to help organise books, scan them out and give helpful book suggestions to pupils.
 
Thanks to this system it is hoped the children will be inspired more often. Year 6 student Megan Bale commented: “I think it is a great idea to let pupils come in the library at lunch times to read. I love to calm down and chill when surrounded by books, so no doubt others will find this too.”
 
Everyone loves the new library and its books there. Reepham Primary School is extremely grateful to Mr Fromings, Mrs Ogle and everyone else who helped piece together this colourful and fun space.
 
Megan Bale is a Year 6 pupil at Reepham Primary School