A Christmas stocking without a book? Surely not!
By now parents of students in Years 7 & 8 should have received, in the school mailing, my end-of-term list of reading suggestions - look out for the yellow sheets. Do keep them as it could be useful for future gift ideas.
I enjoy reading the books on my lists. I don’t claim to have read them all, but try to have read at least one book by most authors I’m suggesting. My suggestions come from reading book reviews in the literary press and online, magazines for librarians and teachers, visiting book shops, as well as listening to recommendations by colleagues, friends and, of course, the young people themselves. Students have seen copies of many of the suggested books in the last two weeks of term.
Parents sometimes enjoy reading the books their children are reading and the activity offers an opportunity to chat about shared interests, as well as help motivate reluctant readers. We have some excellent contemporary authors writing for young people, hence the first page of my Reading Suggestions listing only recently published titles.
I am also keen to promote listening to stories and I regularly promote BBC 7, one of the BBC’s digital networks. Do tune in if you have recently acquired a DAB digital radio. Stories can be heard live, but you can ‘listen again’ online to many of them. Not only is this an enjoyable pastime it also develops listening and concentration skills. Look at the schedules for BBC Radio 7 and you will see that the treats during the school holidays include:
Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce, with a special online author talk about having LOTS of money!
101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith;
Toro! Toro! by Michael Morpurgo;
The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo, with an online interview with Michael Morpurgo, What's the secret of writing a great book? Michael reveals all!
Thirteen Unpredictable Tales: there's no such thing by Paul Jennings.
Anthony Horowitz's popular Stormbreaker and Point Blanc will be coming up in the New Year.
