Reading Allowed

Last night, I spent a wonderful evening at Llantilio Pertholey School, in South Wales. The school is in the process of launching a new library on its site, and to promote it, came up with the original idea of inviting a number of guest ‘readers’ to share bedtime stories with its pupils. A procession of children in onesies, nighties and pyjamas arrived at the school, each carrying a favourite soft toy and a duvet or a blanket.

I am still unsure if it was the lure of tales of the Salty Sea Cat or the promise of pizza that attracted so many to the event, but whatever it was, they all sat beautifully and listened intently. I have always believed that a special kind of magic is created when a story is read aloud. Why rely on someone else’s vision of Bilbo Baggins or Long John Silver, when you can create your own?

I am often transported back to my own pre-television childhood (yes, I am that old), and still hear my father’s voice reading ‘Little Grey Rabbit’ at bedtime. I would trace Fuzzypeg’s journey along the stitching on my eiderdown, as the little hedgehog trotted down the road, with his fine new school bag, to Jonathan Rabbit's school. Going to the library each Saturday was the highlight of the week, and I would select my quota of three books with great care. Each night, I would leap into bed and wait for the reading to begin, eager to hear Orlando the Marmalade Cat’s next adventure, or to find out how Clever Polly would outwit the Stupid Wolf. Strange, unfamiliar, new worlds were unlocked, my imagination fired and a desire to become one of the Scared League of Readers became my aim. On that single activity, my life chances turned, for I believe that reading is the key to all learning and I will be eternally grateful for the opportunities it unlocked for me. I still read aloud, often as a proof-reading activity, but also to groups of children, such as those at Llantilio Pertholey, last night. However, the most enjoyable sessions are those where the average age of the audience is well over fifty and whose members have spent many years in a reading void. It is wonderful to see grown ups transported back to their own childhoods. I often start by saying, “If you are sitting comfortably, then I will begin.” and am sure that one day, I will look up from my book and see a row of adults sitting cross-legged on the floor. It is wonderful that reading aloud is still allowed. Long may it continue!