| Children's column: heroic readers |
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| Children's |
| Written by Nicolette Jones |
| Friday, 27 February 2009 11:25 |
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The book trade is in most ways a business like any other, about selling and the bottom line. But every now and again something reminds us of the specialness of this industry, and the transcendent power of books. One such occasion was yesterday’s ceremony at 10 Downing Street, at which Sarah Brown presented medals to 31 “Reading Heroes” selected from hundreds of submissions for the accolade, and selected by a National Year of Reading panel. “There were 250 entries that fitted all the criteria,” said Catherine Stokes of NYR, and Director Honor Wilson-Fletcher agreed that whittling them down was very hard: “You wanted to reward everybody. What I didn’t realise was how much time we would spend weeping.” The ages of the winners ranged from 7 to 80, but the youngsters’ stories were among the most moving. Fourteen-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim, for instance, a dignified young man, arrived a year ago as a refugee from Afghanistan, without his family, and with no English. He learned the language, became a keen reader, and will take GCSE English, though he has still not seen his family since he came to the UK. Thirteen-year-old Jasmine Metcalfe became an enthusiastic reader and an inspiration to others despite her blindness. Ashni Sedani, 17, from Harrow, set up and runs ‘Write Here, Write Now’, a learning programme by which children improve their literacy with the one-to-one help of other young volunteers. There are also adult Heroes who have made significant contributions to children’s reading: Dinah McIntyre, who taught herself to read as an adult and became a reading buddy for children with reading difficulties; Malcolm Wright, whose website www.signedstories.com makes children’s books accessible to deaf children in British Sign Language; Michaela Dungate, who ensures access to books for foster children in Cornwall; Jermaine Daley, teacher and football coach, who has converted many 7-13 year old reluctant readers into avid bookworms; poet and football fan Paul Cookson, who encourages youngsters to read and write poetry; Rachael Dyer, who has worked to encourage boys and their fathers to enjoy reading; Carol Parchment, who has made a Hackney internet café a hub of reading and learning for youngsters . . . It seems to me that children’s publishers and librarians, educators and government agencies have among these winners a pool of advisors whose own experiences could offer a guide to how to increase literacy and grow the market. If we want to know how to motivate reluctant readers, help those with reading difficulties and hurdles to overcome, appeal to boys, and reach readers for whom English is not the first language, whom better to ask? And even if the industry is not inspired to consult these experts because reading changes lives for the better, perhaps it might do it for the sake of the bottom line.
Above: reading heroes outside 10 Downing Street.
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Firstly, 16 year old Shaheen Mogradia, for her volunteer work at Bolton Central Library. Shaheen has worked tirelessly, inspiring her peers to read and use the library. She’s also been a driving force behind HeadSpace, a national project funded by the Big Lottery and managed by The Reading Agency to provide environments in libraries and youth centres where young people are centrally involved in the design, planning and running of new reading spaces. HeadSpaces around the UK are providing hubs within libraries for young people to feel engaged and welcomed. Shaheen has told us: “Adults aren’t always on the same level, but if you can talk to someone of your own age who has read a lot of books, then they can help you to find one that will be suited to you.”
From among the adult winners, there are Alan Oakes and Michael Neville, who are both “unionlearn” reps at Fletchers Bakeries in Sheffield, and who introduced the Six Book Challenge into their workplace. The Six Book Challenge is a scheme run by The Reading Agency in association with Costa which encourages emergent readers to develop a reading habit through choosing, reading and expressing their views about books. Participants are invited to read six books, and are supported by incentives and creative reading activity.
Via the Six Book Challenge, Michael and Alan have genuinely changed colleagues’ lives. One of their fellow workers, Barry Burton, hadn’t read a book from start to finish since leaving school when he enrolled for the Challenge. Upon completion, he told us: “If anyone out there is thinking that maybe they haven’t got the time to do the Six Book Challenge, or that they don’t want to make a fool of themselves by trying to get back into reading, I say you just have to go for it. I was apprehensive at first, but it’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done.”
As Nicolette Jones says, dedicated individuals like Shaheen, Michael and Alan have much to offer and teach publishers and librarians, educators and government agencies.