READING poetry can help to bridge the gap for children who might be struggling to read, says poet and actor Benjamin Zephaniah.
The Peaky Blinders star, who didn’t learn to read until he was an adult, says that The Sun’s Books For Schools campaign goes some way to helping working class kids discover the joy of reading.
Benjamin, 61, says: “Although I struggled to learn to read, I’ve always enjoyed stories. As a boy, my mother used to tell me tales about the Caribbean and I loved listening to her.
“She instilled a love of rhyme into me, from a very young age.”
You can learn all about his life in Benjamin Zephaniah: My Story, which is in The Sun’s Books For Schools box.
Learn what it was like growing up in a house of seven children, how he met Nelson Mandela and how Benjamin started writing poetry.
Benjamin left school at 13 unable to read or write and without any qualifications. It wasn’t until years later at an adult education class that he learned he was dyslexic.
Struggles
He says: “Learning to read and write was hard work. Back then, there wasn’t the understanding of learning difficulties so it passed me by.
“I realise now that being dyslexic isn’t a sign of poor intelligence. When I first heard the word, I thought I was being called names.”
After teaching himself to read, Benjamin started performing poems in public as a teenager before moving to London when he was 22.
He was discovered by a publishing co-operative and had his first book published in 1980.
Today, he is a professor of poetry at Brunel University in London, has 18 honorary degrees and was offered an OBE in 2003 which he rejected.
Born and bred in Birmingham, Benjamin had a tough upbringing where he witnessed domestic violence.
Although he got into trouble with the police as a youngster and served time in Borstal and prison, the writer was determined to turn his life around.
He says: “If we want to educate the nation, we need to educate women. Then they will know stuff and can’t be bullied or intimidated by men. If a woman reads well, she’ll read to her kids.”
Benjamin doesn’t believe that books are going out of fashion any time soon.
He explains: “If you look back in time, there have always been people saying that it’s the end of the book whenever something new is invented.
“It happened when the radio was invented and the same with television and now games. But fads have come and gone and people will always read.
“For too long books were an upper-class pursuit but the working classes need to take back their power. Reading well will stay with you for life.”
And if finding time to read or the act of reading itself is an issue, Benjamin believes that poetry could be the answer.
He says: If you’ve got a child or someone in your life who struggles to read or isn’t interested in reading, buy them an anthology of poems.
“They might not like all of them, but there might be one or two that they do enjoy reading. And reading poems is great for people who might not have much time to read a whole book.
“For some people seeing too many words can put them off.”
'My parents always read to us, even when we were teenagers, and I still love audio books today'
READING well is a superpower and one that EVERY child can achieve according to writer Lauren Child.
The former Children’s Laureate, and creator of Charlie And Lola, is thrilled to be backing The Sun’s Books For Schools campaign.
The mum-of-one believes that as a society we don’t recognise the incredible ability that children’s books have to change lives for the better.
Lauren, 53, says: “If you want children to do anything well then it needs to be enjoyable. If it’s a chore, then they will shut down and won’t want to do it.
“Although schools teach children to read, you don’t become a reader until you find escaping with a book enjoyable. Books offer nourishment, information and understanding.
“A well-stocked library in every single school is vital. The idea should be that all children feel comfortable around books so that they don’t grow up feeling that books aren’t for them.”
Lauren, from London, admits that she was lucky to grow up in a house where books were valued.
She says: “My mother was a huge reader and my earliest memories are of her with a book.
Find out more
It’s easyto sign up: Get your school to register
IT’S simple to start. All primary schools need to do is visit thesun.co.uk/booksforschools before Friday, November 22.
For more information, pick up The Sun.
Later this month we’ll start printing tokens in the paper for schools and parents to collect.
Once they reach the target, we’ll send out a bumper pack of 106 Collins Big Cat books, suitable for kids in Reception and Year 1.
Schools can register at thesun.co.uk/booksforschools
“My sisters and I were taken to the library twice a week, once after school and on a Saturday morning.
“Because my mum loved the library, we loved the library. I felt very secure there and liked the fact that as I got older I could order any book I wanted and they’d get it for me.
“My parents read to us all the time and even in our teenage years they continued to share stories with us.
“Whenever we went on holiday my dad would find somewhere with a view and read a story to my sisters and I. It was usually at the top of a hill and we’d sit there listening to him and enjoy the landscape.
“I still love being read to — and audio books are a favourite. It’s something I’ve continued with my daughter Tuesday, who’s now nine.
“Although she can read alone, I think sharing a story is important. When we’re reading together we read every other page aloud.
“It’s such a great way to bond. There’s something very intimate about reading aloud with a child. It offers such a great opportunity to understand them and their world.”
Lauren adopted Tuesday when she was two with her partner, criminal barrister Adrian Darbishire, in 2012 after travelling to Mongolia and falling in love with the country and its people.
Powerful
Lauren continues: “When Tuesday was little we were always in the library. She responded so well to the calm environment and I did too.
“When I adopted Tuesday, she was a toddler and I didn’t really know what I was doing! She didn’t like rowdy, busy groups so the library was a lifesaver.”
Lauren adds: “Books teach us so much about the power of connection, empathy and emotions.”
And according to Lauren, the pictures in books are just as important. She explains: “Images are just as powerful as words.
“Pictures teach you to learn to look and observe which are vital life skills.
“Many of us don’t know how to be ourselves and we need external affirmation more frequently. It’s only getting worse with social media.
“But a book allows a reader to feel contained and calm.”
'Books help us make sense of the world'
SHARING stories together increases family bonds and a child’s sense of identity and security, says Nick Butterworth.
The author and illustrator believes being read to as a child is a big investment in their future — and he speaks from personal experience.
Nick, the creator of Percy The Park Keeper and Q Pootle 5, says: “Reading well is a valuable life skill whether you’re a politician or a parent writing a shopping list.
“Books help us to make sense of the world and we get an understanding of people who aren’t like us.”
Nick Butterworth’s much- loved character Percy The Park Keeper is in The Sun’s Books For Schools box.
In Percy And The Rabbit, Percy’s cap, scarf and gloves go missing and end up being used by some mischievous mice to decorate a snowman.
Surprisingly, reading didn’t always come naturally to Nick. He says: “I didn’t start school until I was six and I was a slow learner.
“I was in a class of 50 with one teacher and my parents were so busy running a newsagents, nobody noticed I was struggling. I didn’t get the hang of reading until I was eight.
“But, though I found the mechanics difficult, I really loved stories. My parents read to me all the time and so did my gran. If I was ever bored my gran would say, ‘Come on, chuck, let’s have a story’.
“My favourite childhood tales included The Tale Of Jeremy Fisher by Beatrix Potter.
“As I got older, Aesop’s Fables, Moby Dick, Alice In Wonderland and Kipling’s Just So Stories made an impact.”
Nick, 73, from Essex, adds: “A story is like going through a door into a different world. I was lucky to go on flights of fancy sitting on my gran’s lap.
“Reading to my children and now my grandchildren is the most natural thing. Because of the demands on parents’ time, the bedtime story is easily dispensed with.
"But remember, there will be a time when your child might not want to snuggle up and listen to a story.” Nick, who is going on a book tour this December, believes reading and sharing stories is vital.
He says: “I love visiting schools, particularly when I meet parents and they tell me what a difference it’s made to their child’s life.
“I often wonder why we stop sharing stories as children get older. Families go to the cinema to watch the latest Toy Story movie but will think twice about reading The Wind In The Willows.
“It’s a shame, because it’s a fantastic thing to do. Reading to a child gives them wonderful memories to treasure for a lifetime.”
Source: Read Full Article