Thursday 6 May 2010

And my vote goes to... THE BOOK!


Election day in the UK means many things to different people. the children in my school the children may be too young to cast a vote but they are very aware of what is going on, some of them are studying the idea of elections for their PSHE lessons but how can young children be helped to understand what elections mean? Elections are about making a choice and they are not limited to politics. Whilst I am not usually a fan of 'celebrity' books the recently published English roses, Ready, Set Vote seems to be the perfect book for today. The girls in this story are voting for their class presidents and there are lots of important lessons they can learn about how to make a good leader.

I sometimes consider myself to be a leader but in a very open way - I lead children to books and stories, making myself available and trying to ensure that I have lots of good ideas to hand and just yesterday my day was made when a young boy came to find me and tell me how much he was enjoying the book I had recommended - it was a very simple action but one that meant a lot to me. He had been reading Alex Rider and didn't know where to turn so he was quite doubtful when I suggested Young Bond, but is now hooked! I don't believe I have very good persuasive powers but I do feel that I am very skilled at matching children's interests to a book and I am yet to be defeated!

Leading children to books and acting as a leader does of course require a considerable amount of reading on my part, some books will hook me more than others and whilst I have a bias towards a scertain style of story and don't we all have our favourite authors, I find it hugely rewarding to open myself up to as many possibilities as possible which is why I am currently reading Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody. I am often not sure about books when they are lauded as being bestsellers from other countries but the skill with which the prose in this story flows with a poinancy and pointedness has me gripped - this is a great story, well told, incredibly well imagined and just the right length for juniors progressing to seniors and wishing to excpand their reading horizons.


However your horizons change after today make sure that reading remains a firm part of your everyday life and perhaps follow up one of these suggestions...

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