Building up the book tower

ONCE upon a time - surely the most magical phrase in the English language, just four little words that open up a whole new world. From Narnia to Hogwarts, Britain has an incredibly rich tradition of children's books but, until recently, children's literature has been largely marginalised and undervalued.

The phenomenal success of Harry Potter and Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy indicates that attitudes are beginning to change, but it's a slow process. The Centre for the Children's Book aims to speed things up and put children's books in their rightful place.

Currently based in a small, open-plan office at St Peter's Wharf in Newcastle, the centre is still in its infancy and although it runs exhibitions at other venues and outreach programmes, it doesn't have a home where it can welcome visitors. But progress is being made and contracts have just been exchanged on a 19th Century flour mill on the banks of the Ouse Burn, a tributary of the river Tyne in Newcastle's east end. Over the next three years, this imposing, seven-storey building will be transformed into a groundbreaking institution dedicated to celebrating children's literature and making it available to everyone.

When it opens early in 2004, it will provide Britain's first permanent exhibition space dedicated to children's books, as well as workshops for exploring the art of book and story-making with authors and illustrators, access to on-line collections and a research centre. There will also be a children's bookshop and a caf, serving up literary dishes such as snozzcumber sandwiches and green eggs and ham.

Artistic director Elizabeth Hammill says: "In the past, children's books have been ghettoised and, to some extent, ignored. Now, for the first time, they are being taken seriously. When Philip Pullman won the Whitbread Prize for The Amber Spyglass earlier this year, it marked a watershed in the development of children's books. You could almost say that there are no longer adult books and children's books. There are now just books, and that is something we've always wanted."

Elizabeth, who has loved reading since her childhood in New York State, is the driving force behind the project. With writers and publishers in the family and an inspirational local library, books have always played a major role in her life.

When she moved to England with her husband in 1971, she plunged into the children's literary scene and was one of the key figures in setting up the Northern Children's Book Festival. She lectured at Newcastle University and, for several years, worked as the children's buyer at Waterstone's in Newcastle's Grey Street. During her time at the store, she launched In Brief, Waterstone's teenage book magazine, and organised an ambitious programme of events.

"Sometimes, we just invited schools to come into the shop for a morning. The number of children who had never been in a bookstore was astounding. This was a way of introducing them to books and making them feel comfortable.

"When I look back on it, I see that what I'm doing now is just an extension of that, except on a much larger scale."

She had been nurturing the idea of a centre for children's literature since the late 1980s, but it wasn't until 1997 that the centre finally came into being as a charitable company.

"It was something other countries had done but the British Library has never had a policy to collect that kind of material. I knew there had been attempts to establish a similar centre at Exeter University in the early 1970s but that had failed.

"I talked to a lot of people and I gradually began to develop the idea but although I knew I was fine on the artistic side, I needed to be working with someone who understood the politics of getting a cultural institution off the ground."

That someone was Mary Briggs, principal planning and development officer in Newcastle City Council's Education Department. She knew Elizabeth from her involvement in the Northern Children's Book Festival and was impressed by the idea from the outset. For a while, both women held down their day jobs while developing proposals for the centre, but in 1997 they devoted their energies to it full-time, with Mary as business director and Elizabeth dealing with artistic issues.

The first exhibition took place in October 1998 at The Discovery Museum in Newcastle - Daft as a Bucket: Inside the World of Colin McNaughton. It attracted 7,500 visitors during its seven-week run. "For a virtually unknown organisation, it was a brilliant start. We set ourselves incredibly high standards which we have had to live up to ever since," says Elizabeth.

Other exhibitions have included Tales for the Telling: A Journey through the World of Folktales and Through Eastern Eyes: The Art of the Japanese Picture Book. All have been critically acclaimed and have been enjoyed by more than 100,000 children and adults.

The centre will continue with its programme of events in the run-up to its opening, including a retrospective of the work of Shirley Hughes, author of the popular Alfie books, and Over the Hills and Far Away, an exploration of the relationship between folk tales and farms, focusing on the work of Northumberland-based Kim Lewis, creator of Floss the sheepdog.

The centre also operates a number of outreach programmes across the North-East. "Access is something we feel is crucial, we want people to get really involved in books. Kids love finding out how something is made, whether it's the inside of a car or a book.

"They find it reassuring when authors bring in a first draft covered in crossings-out. It de-mystifies the author and gives them the idea that writing is something they might be able to do themselves. Everyone has a story to tell."

Sadly, much of Britain's priceless literary heritage, from the art of Arthur Rackham to the manuscripts of CS Lewis, has already been lost to overseas organisations. But, from first drafts and doodles to finished books, the centre will create a national collection of manuscripts and artwork, which will be made available to everyone, both in Newcastle and on the Internet.

It already owns a number of important collections, including the archive of Kaye Webb, the creator of Puffin Books, and the complete Ladybird archive. But until it moves into its permanent home, it does not have the facilities to store more works.

Once it moves, staff will be able to take up the many offers they've had. Philip Pullman has already pledged his entire archive, as have Jan Mark and Helen Cresswell. More than 100 authors and illustrators have promised specific works, including Michael Foreman, Quentin Blake and Shirley Hughes.

Former Children's Laureate Quentin Blake, one of the centre's patrons, describes it as "a magnet for academics, and an attraction for every English-speaking family with children in the world" but in this age of television and computer games, will it be a success? Elizabeth is confident.

"I think there is a huge amount of competition for children's time and there are some children who just don't read. When the Literacy Hour was introduced, it removed from the curriculum the opportunity to read whole books. If you come from a home where books aren't part of your family life, then the opportunity to read just vanishes.

"But, having said that, if you look at the impact of JK Rowling, Philip Pullman or Jacqueline Wilson, they have huge audiences. It shows that, at the moment, children's books are enjoying a renaissance and we want to be a major part of that."