Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books is a museum and visitor centre dedicated to children's literature and based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, close to the city's regenerated Quayside. The renovated Victorian mill in which it is housed has seven levels.
Why seven? The theory is that there are seven story topics or themes:
- Quest
- Overcoming the Monster
- Rags to Riches
- Voyage and Return
- Tragedy
- Rebirth
- Comedy
In 2012 I attended the London IBBY Congress and that is when I first heard about Seven Stories which opened in 2005. Actually, while I was at the London event I visited a similar museum in Oxford which was just about to open - The Story Museum.
After attending the 2024 IBBY Congress in Trieste I travelled to Newcastle-on-Tyne so I could spend a day at Seven Stories. Unfortunately, possibly because it was a Monday, no one was there. I had hoped to meet an administrator or a member of the museum staff. I did email several times prior to my visit and I followed and commented on their social media posts over the previousl weeks. Seven Stories does open on a Monday so I went along to the first story time of the day with Tom (see below). Oddly I was the only one there. Tom reads a picture book three times a day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and once each hour on the weekend. I also met the education staff who were very busy preparing for several school visits the following week. On my visit Tom read Into the Forest by Anthony Browne.
The exhibitions in Seven Stories at the time of my visit were - Judith Kerr and The Tiger who Came to Tea; Judith Kerr and the Mog series; Bob Graham original art from Jethro Byrd Fairy child winner of the 2002 Kate Greenaway Medal; art by Helen Craig for her Angelina Ballerina series; Tony Ross; Nicholas Allen; and Helen Cooper. The bookshop also had some wonderful picture books, middle grade and YA titles for sale.
I was thrilled by one display. A display case with the author notebook showing the inspiration for this dystopian novel. I adored the book Where the River Runs Gold by Sita Brahmachari.
If you are in the UK or you live in the UK do go to Seven Stories but take some children - ideally aged 4-8. There are interactive activities, dressing up clothes, small stages, colouring pages, and creative spaces on every level along with tons of books which are scattered around ready to read.
The other thing I sadly missed out on this visit was an exploration of the archives. These are held in the city library and are available if you make an appointment. I discovered this on the day of my visit, so I was too late to make a booking. If I had been able to prepare for this, I might have asked to see the box with 45 pieces relating to Sunshine by Jan Ormerod, or work by PJ Lynch (9 pieces including Catkin), or Martin Waddell, or Barbara Firth or Angela Barrett (The Snow Queen). They have:
- Over 250 authors and illustrators
- Book collection of over 36,000 texts
- 1000 metres of shelving = about 10 football pitches long!
- Material is stored in over 2500 boxes
- The oldest item is almost 250 years old!
Britain has a wonderful heritage of writing and illustration for children – from The Famous Five to We're Going on a Bear Hunt, British children’s books are among the best known and most widely read in the world. Seven Stories are the custodians of a unique and ever-growing national archive of modern and contemporary British children’s literature dating from the 1930s to the present. Our Collection includes artwork, manuscripts, dummy books, correspondence, editors notes, proofs, and anything else that helps us explore how books are created. The collection includes material by over 250 authors and illustrators including Enid Blyton, Philip Pullman, Robert Westall, Judith Kerr, Edward Ardizzone and Kaye Webb.
Here are the addresses:
The National Centre for Children’s Books
30 Lime Street, Ouseburn
Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 2PQ
And after your visit Seven Stories you should also head up the road to The Biscuit Factory - it's an art space with painting, sculpture, jewelry and more all for sale plus a bonus wonderful cafe. The Seven Stories cafe is quite basic so I highly recommend heading to The Biscuit Factory instead. I had the most delicious meal there.
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