Read about their current exhibit and latest changes in this post, or read on to find out about this previous exhibit.

Back in 2016 I shared a post about Discover in Stratford, East London. Discover Children's Story Centre is a great place to go with young children to have fun and explore books. There is a lovely playground outside and it’s a perfect place to spend a rainy day too. The Dr Seuss exhibit was replaced last year by an amazing new one called A World Inside A Book: Gruffalos, Dragons and Other Creatures. Available until September 2018 the new exhibit is based on the stories of Julia Donaldson and the illustrations of Axel Scheffler. It is a must visit for any Julia Donaldson fans.

When you first enter the exhibit you walk into Charlie Cooks sitting room, complete with the yellow chair that he reads his story on. Instead of Charlie you are greated by a member of the Discover team who talks about how books can create new worlds before reading one of Julia Donaldson’s stories.

Once the story has been read the world of Julia Donaldson magically opens up and the children are free to explore the exhibit for about half an hour. There are immersive scenes from some of her best loved books including: Zog, The Gruffalo, Stickman, Room on The Broom, The Highway Rat , The Snail and The Whale, A Squash and a Squeeze, Monkey Puzzle, Tiddler and the Smartest Giant in Town. If children don’t know the stories they will find it entertaining, it they do it is pure magic. The attention to detail is impressive and even as an adult you will keep discovering new things.

The number of people in each session are strictly limited so it is recommended you book in advance, and it’s an absolute necessity in school holidays.

Before and after A World Inside A Book there is plenty more to do: there are 2 floors of Story World play space which include fancy dress, craft, a slide and a spaceship as well as a good selection of books. There are also smaller story telling sessions aimed at babies and toddlers and a cafe. To read more about Discover in Stratford read my previous post  or checkout their website. 

Discover is an easy walk from Stratford station making it easy to get to from both London and Essex. I strongly recommend visiting before the exhibition changes.