Book Bench

Manchester City Council and the National Literacy Trust have joined forces with Wild in Art to bring their iconic BookBench sculptures to Manchester. 
The Read Manchester BookBench Project celebrates the city’s creativity and encourages children and adults to read for enjoyment. 

To celebrate the exhibition, there are lots of activities taking place over the summer at the venues where the BookBenches are on display, including literacy-themed events, storytelling sessions and book swaps. There will also be activities and resources at each location for families to complete.


From Monday 10th July the Manchester book bench trial goes live until September. That means there will be 58 benches painted by schools and other organisations going on display around Manchester. There is a map so you can follow the trail. 

We have one going on display in Alex Park outside the cafe. There will be activities over the summer linked to our bench and benches in other places. If you are able please go and see our bench insitu. It's painted with illustrations and text from a book called A Balloon for Granddad and many of the children know this story.
Many of the children have been involved in designing or painting the bench.

Benches unveiled as part of the campaign, aimed at promoting reading across the city to boost literacy levels, include...

• ‘The Journey’, created by pupils at Heald Place Primary School – a bench inspired by the strength, courage and bravery of refugees around the world, which the pupils read about in The Journey by Francesca Sanna
• ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, created by pupils at St Luke's CE Primary School – this design is based on Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon series, one of the school’s favourite stories of bravery and overcoming adversity
• ‘Manchester's Secret Gardens’, created by Manchester College’s Supported Learning Department – this BookBench is inspired by Manchester-born Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of The Secret Garden, as well as Manchester’s green spaces

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A cluster of venues in the city centre are playing host to the benches, including Manchester Cathedral, the Manchester Arndale, the Royal Exchange Theatre and the National Football Museum.
Outside of the city centre, other venues taking part include the National Cycling Centre, the Lowry Outlet and Manchester Museum.

Our Book Bench A Balloon for Grandad.