Expanding Horizons for Reading
This week the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults winners were celebrated, and Read NZ Te Pou Muramura launched its inaugural New Zealand Children’s Book Week. These things matter.
Firstly, book awards. They highlight the best in children’s writing and illustration in Aoateroa. Congratulations to Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan for taking out the top prize with their excellent A Guide to Rocks. (You can read our review here). The judges said: “With A Guide to Rocks, Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan have created a book that tackles a serious topic and yet maintains a sense of humour and joy, without a hint of glibness. This captivating book belongs in every home, school and library in Aotearoa.” And congratulations to local author Mat Tait for Kupe me te Wheke Nui a Muturangi, taking out two awards: for a book originally written in te reo, and the esteemed Illustration prize (you can see some internals here). With its punchy graphics this is excellent illustration, typography and story-telling. The judges said: “This is a skilfully designed and engaging book that maximises use of vibrant colour and illustration to make the story pop off each and every page.”
Secondly, they place books and reading for children front and centre. The theme of this year’s book week is Reading Around Aotearoa. There have been activations, media, resources, and events during the week encouraging ‘parents, teachers, caregivers and whānau to make reading a priority for children in their lives’. These campaigns happen for a reason. Children’s literacy is declining (in line with literacy generally). This is something we all should be concerned about. I think the single best thing you can do to turn this around, is to read to children and give the book a visual presence in your home. Studies show that having books in the home, even a few, makes a difference to education and life outcomes. Whether you own the books, find them in your community’s Little Libraries or borrow them from the public library, engaging with books is vital.
In a world where there are many distractions from the news feed to gaming to what’s happening on instagram, or the general pressure of trying to keep up or pay the bills, carving out a niche for reading can seem daunting. Yet making reading a daily habit can take as little as a few minutes, and reading aloud with your children can be the activity in your day that will be the most rewarding. Here’s a selection of some of our favourite children’s books. Warm-hearted Brown Bird by Jane Arthur – we keep recommending this one. The always excellent Kathrine Rundell’s Rooftoppers (and all her other books). You know the His Dark Materials series from Philip Pullman, but you may not be aware of the feisty Victorian detective Sally Lockhart in The Ruby in the Smoke. And great as a read-aloud or read on your own, the story of Ping and some fiery dragons, all set in the Han dynasty should be on everyone’s reading pile. Start the series with Dragonkeeper. And for children who enjoy words and image on the page, try these cat detective graphic novels– adventures told with verve in Miss Cat from French duo Jean-Luc Fromental and Joëlle Jolivet, and plenty of fun in Detective Beans from New Zealand comic artist Li Chen.
Not sure what to read next, or to give to the children in your whānau? Just ask. We can find the right book for the child and for your storytime reading. If you would like to expand reading horizons further, explore our reading subscriptions.