24/09/2026
A mysterious chair has appeared in Year 3… 👀🪑
Who did it belong to? Why has it been left behind? And what could it have to do with the story they are about to read?
Year 3 have begun exploring The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers, a thoughtful picture book about love, loss, memories and protecting ourselves from difficult emotions. The mysterious empty chair was the hook into the text, encouraging pupils to observe and make inferences before even opening the book. As Jeffers doesn’t explicitly explain everything, the illustrated pages and small details in the drawings will give readers clues, encouraging them to look beyond the words and work things out for themselves. Therefore, the empty chair is a great way to build excitement and curiosity around a new story, while introducing elements they will encounter in the book — from inference to metaphor.
We look forward to seeing what our young readers discover 📖