Benches shaped like open books will pop up all over London from today.
Books About Town has been launched by the National Literacy Trust and Wild In Art bringing 50 unique BookBench sculptures to the city. They have been created by local artists and famous names to celebrate Londonās literary heritage.
The BookBenches feature stories linked to London and are based on a range of iconic books such as The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Day of the Triffids.
Artists and authors that have taken part include Axel Scheffler, Ralph Steadman, Lauren Child and Cressida Cowell.
Childrenās author-illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon series, Cressida Cowell, says: āI am so excited to have designed a How to Train Your Dragon BookBench and to be part of the National Literacy Trustās Books about Town campaign to celebrate the wealth of writing and illustrating talent in this country. I am hoping that ‘Books about Town’ will remind Londoners on the streets of the joy of reading books.ā
To celebrate the launch of Books About Town, the National Literacy Trust has unveiled new research that shows childrenās enjoyment of reading has increased for the first time in 8 years.