Literary events inspire a Summer of Reading

Two key literary events this week have inspired our pupils to take part in a summer of reading. 

King’s St. Alban’s has held annual charity Readathon events over many years. After last autumn’s sponsored read, our grand total raised so far passed the £30,000 mark, which is an amazing feat. We are very grateful to all our families for their generosity and their encouragement of their children’s reading. The charity Read for Good uses the money raised to provide books and storytellers for very sick (and often very bored!) children in British hospitals. Meanwhile, the event provides a wonderful showcase for reading in our own school. As a reward for our money raising activities over so many years, we were invited to an exclusive online author event. The children really enjoyed themselves, engaging with quizzes, collective story creation and hearing authors reading extracts from their books. Skye McKenna talked about her inspiration for the Hedgewitch Series and children’s illustrator Sarah McIntyre demonstrated how to sketch characters effectively during a ‘drawalong’ session. The authors also recommended the books of Stephen Holland, British Comics Laureate, and Philip Reeve, who created the books Utterly Dark and The Face of the Deep. Other author recommendations included Jonathan Stroud (the Lockwood series: very spooky!), and Beetle Boy (among others) by M G Leonard. This was a genuinely enjoyable session which gave our pupils some great ideas about how best to write and to draw.

“Ready, Set, Read” assembly:

On Thursday, St Alban’s welcomed a librarian from The Hive in Worcester to our assembly. He told the pupils about all the exciting things they can do at The Hive (not just read books!) and introduced the Summer Reading Challenge, which begins on Saturday 8th July.

The challenge, with the theme “Ready, Set, Read!” aims to foster a love for reading and improve literacy skills. To take part, pupils need to sign up at The Hive or their local library. Every participant is given a collector’s folder, stickers and a reward chart. If pupils don’t have a library card, they can register for one on their first visit.

To complete the challenge, pupils must read at least six books over the summer holidays. Participants who successfully complete the challenge will receive a medal and a certificate.

For more information, plus games, rewards and a book sorter, visit the Summer Reading Challenge website here. For more information about The Hive and to search the library catalogue click here.

.