Following a poll of Guardian readers, Neil Gaiman’s first novel Neverwhere, illustrated by Chris Riddell, was recently selected as the 51st Book Bench, making it the final entry in Books About Town, a trail of highly decorated, book-themed benches that have been much enjoyed around London since July.
Books About Town, which was organized by the National Literacy Trust for its summer 2014 campaign to raise awareness of London as a reading city, was created by Wild in Art and funded by local businesses, trade organizations, and the original publishers of the titles. It was made up of 51 decorated benches carefully placed across London. Between them they represent classic and contemporary adult and children’s books. Many of the adult books, such as The Diary of Samuel Pepys, have been brought to life in new illustrations specifically for the purpose. Most of the children’s books already have illustrations that have been adapted in a number of ways. David McKee’s Elmer is fittingly a patchwork bench in Greenwich Park, while Lauren Child’s distinctive style stands out on her Clarice Bean bench which is part of the Riverside Trail on the South Bank of the River Thames.
Also on the Riverside Trail is Axel Scheffler’s bench of illustrations for Julia Donaldson’s bestselling The Gruffalo and several of her other titles. Both Child and Scheffler designed their own BookBenches. Scheffler’s brief was more complicated than some of the other, single book title benches. “The idea was to combine a few characters from the books I’ve done with Julia Donaldson as the bench was sponsored by two publishers – Macmillan and Scholastic,” Scheffler told PW. “I knew I had to do The Scarecrow’s Wedding as well as Room on the Broom and The Gruffalo.” Scheffler added that he didn’t really have a plan when he began. “The idea to fit in more characters grew while I was painting it so in the end there are also characters from A Squash and a Squeeze, Stick Man and The Snail and the Whale. It took me three days to do the bench. It is always a bit of a challenge to work in a different medium and scale. Some acrylic paints do what I want them to do and some are more reluctant.”
Both decorative and practical, all the benches have been a much-enjoyed feature of summer in London. “The response to the benches has been extraordinary,” said Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust. “I’ve met tourists who have headed to London with their Book Bench map in hand from Italy, the States and Mexico. I’ve had letters from teachers and readers and members of the public who have been enthralled by the project. And memorably I’ve been charged at by 30 eight-year-olds screaming, "We’re going on a bench hunt!” as they headed off to find Axel Scheffler and Lauren Child’s benches.
Now Books About Town is coming to an end. The benches were on display in Gordon Square last weekend in preparation for their public auction and dispersal on October 7. Proceeds from the auction will go to the National Literacy Trust for their work improving literacy levels in the U.K.
