A residency project which formed the backbone of ReimagiNation: Cumbernauld challenged pupils at four local primary schools to invent new tales of the town which can stand alongside the ‘official’ and too often negative story embedded in the public imagination. After sessions with theatre maker Ishbel McFarlane and weekly meetings with childrens’ author Mike Nicholson, the results are more imaginative, varied, weird, wild and wonderful than we could have expected, and after teaming the pupils up with students from Edinburgh College of Art, the final fully illustrated stories are now ready for the children, their friends and families, the town and the world to enjoy.

From scary encounters with witches to ingenious architectural marvels, travels through space and time to charming tales of environmental concern, the children, with Mike’s help, used their knowledge of the town and its history to tell stories rooted in the reality of Cumbernauld, but invested with exciting fresh creative energy.

Click on the buttons below to download PDFs of each story. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.