Jenni’s ‘Vanishing Trick’ at Pott Shrigley School

Pott Shrigley Church School were thrilled to welcome Jenni Spangler to their belated World Book Day celebrations last week.

Author of The Vanishing Trick – a heart-racing Victorian-era adventure full of eerie magic, folklore and one ever-so-nasty villain, Class 3 were gripped by the work of fiction earlier in the year, so teacher Mrs Fairhurst wrote to Jenni to invite her into school.

 The day started with a whole school workshop to discuss what being a writer is and tips and tricks to get you started and how everyone has a story within waiting to be recorded.

Jenni then worked with Class 3 on an in-depth writer workshop helping to tease out their ideas followed by a book signing and gift of a magpie notebook for each child to record their ideas and inspiration. 

 Mrs Fairhurst comments ‘There wasn’t a child in the class who wasn’t gripped by The Vanishing Trick – begging for an extra chapter whenever we picked up the book. The written work as a result has been exceptional as they’ve stood in the shoes of their favourite characters from Mrs Pinchbeck to Leander. I simply had to let Jenni know how much of an impact her book had on our Year 4-6 children. Not only have they written fabulously they’ve independently created their own video trailers for the book which are very atmospheric.’ 

Jenni left the children with a reminder of her motto: Work Hard, Be Kind, Stay Weird and permission to experiment, make mistakes and to proudly call themselves creators.

Image: Mrs Anne-Marie Willis, headteacher Pott Shrigley Primary School.