CARE home residents in Warrington were given the joy of celebrating World Book Day with the children who attend a nursery next door to their site.

Youngsters dressed as Zog, The Gruffalo, Mog the Cat and more piled into Statham Manor in Lymm to enjoy an afternoon of story-telling fun.

Back To The Garden childcare, which only recently opened in January, is based on the multi-generational Statham Avenue site and the group of eight children were assisted by nursery managers – all dressed as book characters too.

The group of young and elderly gathered in the lounge room and spent time reading children’s novels to one-another.

Residents exchanged stories with pre-schoolers of their favourite childhood books and memories, while the children showed off their creative outfits and the books they also cherish the most.

Warrington Guardian: Residents of Statham Manor read to the nursery children during the enjoyable visit Residents of Statham Manor read to the nursery children during the enjoyable visit (Image: Supplied)

Statham Manor resident, Bill Hall, aged 82, said: “I have always loved books and still enjoy reading, so it was a real joy to see the children today dressed up as characters from their favourite books and share stories with them.”

Farai Hanyane, registered manager at Statham Manor, added: “Over the course of the last two months, since the care home opened, we have welcomed several residents, so it was lovely to host a fun afternoon for them with the children from Back to the Garden Childcare.

“You are never too old to enjoy a good story and seeing the residents read with the children was lovely; they loved learning about the little ones’ favourite characters and were thrilled to share stories and memories from their childhood.”

The design and thought behind the structure of the site, built by the McGoff group, being a nursery neighbouring a retirement village, was so that the two opposite generations could enjoy a benefit from each other’s company and time.

Warrington Guardian: Residents of Statham Manor read to the nursery children during the enjoyable visit Residents of Statham Manor read to the nursery children during the enjoyable visit (Image: Supplied)

Alison O’Connor-Limb, nursery manager at Back to the Garden, concluded: “It is so important that children respect and understand the elderly people in our community.

“The best way to teach this is for the young and old to have contact, and enjoy time in each other’s company. World Book Day was a great example of this.

 “Our pre-school children were so excited to dress up and visit residents in the care home, bringing with them lots of books to read together. 

“Storytelling is so important and we have daily sit down storytelling sessions at the nursery, where often parents and grandparents join us, which the children love. 

“Without doubt, reading with the residents at Statham Manor was a great experience for the pre-school children – it was a wonderful opportunity for them to use their imagination and be creative.”