Best story museums for families to celebrate World Book Day

Re-creation of Roald Dahl's writing shed, at the Roald Dahl Museum

The Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire includes a recreation of the author's writing shed

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

published 5 March 2024

It's World Book Day on Thursday 7 March, when children across the UK and Republic of Ireland are each given a book token and are encouraged to go to school dressed as their favourite characters.

For a change, why not celebrate World Book Day in a more active way, with a day out at one of these story-related museums.

Jane Austen moved to this red-brick cottage in the village of Chawton in 1809 with her mother and sister after a period of housing uncertainty. The resulting "sense of security… seems to be very important to Austen to be creative", Lizzie Dunford, director of the museum, told the Financial Times (FT). Placed by a window, "an unassuming, small table is an emotional trigger for visitors", she said. It is, of course, where the author "wrote or revised her six famous novels". Adding "further flavour to Austen's life and work" are the museum's temporary exhibitions, said Londonist.

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This museum in Oxford celebrates stories in all forms and "explores their enduring power to teach and delight", said The Oxford Magazine. Housed in a former Royal Mail depot, the museum's "labyrinth of galleries" is home to "hands-on exhibits, a wonderfully creative Small Worlds play area for youngsters and a charming cafe", said National Geographic, arranged around a cobbled courtyard. The space "brings the imaginative landscape to life, from listening to fable-spouting trees in the whispering wood gallery to pushing musky fur coats aside and venturing through the wardrobe into the glittering realm of Narnia".

At this interactive museum for under-11s in Stratford, children can play inside and out. In the garden there's a trail based on "The Storm Whale", and inside is "The Box Rocket where kids can board a toy rocket ship before arriving on a strange world where they must undertake an important mission", said The Sun. As well as the exhibitions, there are "two floors of magical worlds where they can creep through caves, hidden ships and play on the puppet castle". This stimulating environment features "places to hide in, treasure to seek and the chance to fire young imaginations to create their own stories", said Time Out.

"It's swizzfigglingly, flushbunkingly gloriumptious" – so says the description painted on the museum's frontage in the village of Great Missenden, where Dahl lived for 36 years writing stories in his shed. The museum is "partly about the life of Roald Dahl, and partly about the process of creative writing", said Bradt Guides. "Families can come face to face with Fantastic Mr Fox in a fun exhibition, measure up to Quentin Blake's illustrations and discover Roald Dahl's Writing Hut – the birthplace of his famous characters," said SheerLuxe.

Occupying seven storeys in a converted Victorian flour mill is this children's literature museum, where "the UK's storytelling pot bubbles over", said National Geographic. The museum is dedicated to telling stories of migration. On display are original artwork from "The Tiger Who Came to Tea", and the kitchen that belonged to its author, Judith Kerr, which also featured in "Mog the Forgetful Cat". There are also unpublished early manuscripts by Michael Morpurgo and a family-friendly cafe overlooking the Ouseburn River.

Along with "an eclectic programme of live music, theatre, comedy and discussion" plus an arts hub, the centre now holds a permanent exhibition on Beatrix Potter, said The Herald. She's most associated with the Lake District but Potter holidayed here regularly from the age of four, and this exhibition is "a celebration of all the links between this region of Scotland and the part it played in shaping the creative mind of a young genius", said Scottish Field. It was while on holiday here that Potter wrote "The tale of Peter Rabbit" in a letter to her former governess's son. There's also a "a fantastic café-bistro serving up delicious local produce and fabulous home-baking", said The Herald. The building itself played a part in inspiring Potter, being home to a library "where she would borrow books – her signature can be found in records still held there".

A.A. Milne lived in Hartfield, on the edge of Ashdown Forest, known to Pooh fans as Hundred Acre Wood. And at the edge of the forest is a "tearoom every Winnie-the-Pooh fan will want to visit", said Surrey Live. The tearoom has a small museum dedicated to Winnie-the-Pooh, but you'll want to explore the locations made famous by the books, including "Pooh Sticks Bridge, Galleon's Lap, Roo's Sandy Pit, the Heffalump Trap, and the Enchanted Place in the forest" nearby. And it has remained a forest "rather than a theme park", said Londonist, "with the landmarks left in a completely natural environment, the only clue to their significance being the occasional wooden signpost".

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Adrienne Wyper has been a freelance sub-editor and writer for The Week's website and magazine since 2015. As a travel and lifestyle journalist, she has also written and edited for other titles including BBC Countryfile, British Travel Journal, Coast, Country Living, Country Walking, Good Housekeeping, The Independent, The Lady and Woman’s Own.