Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds|Book Week Display 2021

Yay! It’s almost Book Week! One of my favourite times of the year in the library. This week I finished my Book Week display for this year’s theme “Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds,” and I can’t wait for the students to see it after the holidays.

I chose space to represent the theme this year. With Earth (old world) and Tatooine (other world) in the background and Mars (new world) in the foreground.

The display also doubles as a photo booth. During Book Week students will be able to step inside the display and have their photos taken. I then display the photos on the TV in the library. The students love seeing their photos and sharing them with their friends. The photos look fantastic when they are in their costumes for the Book Week Parade, and the kids really do love it. To show you the effect, here is my daughter testing it out.

To create the display I used some large cardboard boxes, an inflatable astronaut and a cardboard rocket ship from Bunnings.

To make the Mars area of the display I broke down some large cardboard boxes and removed the flaps. I then cut them into mountain shapes and spray painted them in a terracotta colour.

The crater is made out of the left over flaps. I shaped the cardboard by rolling it around the spray paint can and glued the layers together with pva glue. I taped the layers together with masking tape while the glue dried. The crater was also spray painted terracotta.

The rocket ship was a cardboard colouring in play rocket I bought from Bunnings. I painted the rocket ship white. It took 4 coats to get decent coverage. If you look closely you can still see some of the outlines. Once dry I added some aluminium tape to the edges, to give it more of a spacey look.

Then it was off to school to start putting my display together. Below is the area in my library that I use for my displays. As you can see it includes an oddly shaped wall, with lots of angles. Why do I use this space? It is the only large section of wall in my library.

To create my backdrop I put together an image in photoshop and used Block Posters to blow it up. The backdrop is made up of two very large posters that I have suspended from the ceiling.

And here is the final product! I added some stones around the base of the rocket and inside the crater, and a shelf for the shortlisted books.

I also decided to hang some star garlands made from old books, around the library to add to the space theme. I am so happy with how it all turned out. It looks great!

Now I just have to work out which costume to wear. Have a great Book Week!

Looking for a fun Book Week craft activity? Why not try one of these: Tent Craft Inspired by “There’s No Such Thing” | Australian Bird Craft Inspired by “Busy Beaks” | Bears in Woolly Jumpers Craft Inspired by “Norton and the Bear”