A stunning, hand-sculpted reading chair has taken pride of place in the children’s library at Storyhouse , thanks to generous benefactors.

As a special gift to Storyhouse to commemorate its opening in May this year, the Friends of Chester Literature Festival commissioned award-winning local craftsman Simon O’Rourke to create a unique storytelling chair for the library.

Carved from a variety of different kinds of wood, the chair is decorated with birds and animals, including the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, one of Storyhouse’s opening productions, and stands in the storytelling room where youngsters meet for regular sessions.

The special storytelling chair that will be displayed in the children's library of Storyhouse

Carol Archer from the Friends of Chester Literature Festival told The Chronicle: “We support the literature festival each year by promoting it, sponsoring one of the events and also organising a fringe activity.

“This year, to commemorate the opening of Storyhouse and also our commitment to literature and young people, we decided to commission and donate a storytelling chair for the children’s library.

"Simon O’Rourke, the sculptor, started out as an illustrator of children’s books so he was the perfect choice because, like us, he is passionate about books!

“In fact, the base of this unique chair is a stack of books,” she added.

“We hope the chair will be used and enjoyed by children and their families for years to come.”