This article is an account of a creative learning project conducted in the author's school in which she worked with a storyteller to engage a class of 14-15-year-old students in exploring other worlds, inspired by the "His Dark Materials" novels by Philip Pullman. The project was conceived as teacher-led action research in which the author observed the impact of new creative learning approaches on the motivation of a group of students who had become disengaged from the learning process in school. Analysis of a series of critical incidents and associated evidence gave insights into the issues and challenges encountered and the effects on students' learning as the project progressed. The author found that her own role in the classroom was challenged, which shifted her research towards a more ethnographic approach. Her belief in the power of creative learning was deepened, leading her to reflect on the implications for school improvement beyond her own practice and suggesting further lines of enquiry.