Michael Rosen and Ian Whybrow talk to Literacy Time PLUS
2 Jul 2008
So, by Christmas this year, every five- and 11-year-old child across England will have received a free book as part of Booktrust’s Booktime and Booked Up programmes. Authors Michael Rosen and Ian Whybrow speak exclusively to Literacy Time PLUS editor, Helen Watts, about their reactions to the two programmes
Author Ian Whybrow talks to Literacy Time PLUS
Michael Rosen
As part of the Booktime and Booked Up projects, children in both Reception and Year 7 will be sent a free poetry anthology. Why do you think this decision has been made for the first time this year, and what do you hope this will achieve?
To be honest, I don’t know why this is the first time. It’s clear that the question of reading for pleasure and instilling the reading habit has been a matter of great interest to a variety of NGOs and government departments for some time. My assessment of this is that a head of steam is developing as a result of a variety of projects – eg, Booktime, Booked Up, Family Reading Campaign, the National Year of Reading, Children’s Book Week – and so on.
Any one single initiative won’t turn non-readers into readers overnight. This has to be a nationwide, community-wide, school-wide set of ideas and projects. I welcome this particular one. I think it will help children see that poetry can be simply read and enjoyed and talked about and shared. But it should be seen in the context of everything else that’s going on.
Read our report on the Booktime and Booked Up programmes by clicking here
What advice would you give to a parent who lacks confidence about sharing poetry with their child?
I would ask that person if he or she knows any lines from any poems or songs. And I’d ask them why they think they remember that line, or verse or indeed, whole poem. Then, I’d say, look through any book of poems and choose a poem that looks interesting or catches the eye. And just read it. Read it to yourself. Read it out loud. It’s fun sometimes to repeat lines from poems as a kind of echo. Or you can ask the child you’re reading to to echo a word or line.
What do you particularly like about the two chosen poetry collections?
The collection for the youngest is bright, diverse and attractive to look at. The poems are a good mix of thoughtful, funny and quirky. The second collection is a way of saying that poems can amuse and entertain and yet just because a poem makes you laugh, it doesn’t mean that it’s without thought or ideas. There’s plenty in the collection for older children to get them thinking and wondering.
As part of the Booked Up programme, 11-year-old children can pick a book from a list of 12. What advice would you give to a child about to make their choice?
If you’ve got time, look up something about the book or the author online. See if there’s anything you read amongst this information that grabs your attention. Is there anything that rings a bell with any of your interests? If there is, that’s the one for you.
Which book from the list would you choose and why?
Skulduggery Pleasant is a fantastically funny book. It won the only prize awarded entirely by children (the Federation of Children’s book groups award) and I met the author who was also fantastically funny. I like the idea of a skeleton detective, so I think I’ll give that one a go.
If I’m feeling more serious, I’d go for Elizabeth Laird’s The Garbage King. I also like books that talk about how we are now, what’s going in the world.
Further information about Booktime and Booked Up can be found on their revamped websites www.booktime.org.uk and www.bookedup.org.uk
Ian Whybrow
How does it feel to know that your book Harry and the Dinosaurs Go to School is guaranteed to be in the hands of so many young children by the end of this year?
A lot of my time is spent in schools and libraries, talking to children, teachers and would-be writers about my work, so when I heard that Harry and the Dinosaurs Go to School had been selected by an independent panel, which included representatives from school and library associations, I was naturally thrilled and very proud. The fact that the book is guaranteed to be in the hands of so many young children – about a million, I gather – is a special bonus. Now when kids ask me “Are you famous?”, I can point to my book and say, “Hem, hem.”
What do you hope children will take away from this story?
I hope that the story will reassure children who are about to start school – and their parents – that they can cope with a new and challenging situation, make friends, be happy and turn school into a place where they belong.
As part of the Booked Up programme, 11-year-old children can pick a book from a list of 12. What advice would you give to a child about to make their choice?
I’d say – don’t just glance at the covers. Read the blurb before making your decision. Choose something that your friends are not going for – and then you can all do a swap later.
Which book from the list would you choose and why?
I’d go for the selection of poems, Read Me and Laugh. There are bound to be lots in there that I’ll enjoy and plenty more that will make me think …”Hmmm. Don’t think much of that. That’s rubbish!” Then I might have a go at writing some poems of my own. In fact, here’s a short one to be going on with:
A Hint to Gaby Morgan
This is a short and lonely poem.
Would you be nice and find it a hoem?
Too late for this year, but please, no apology…
Just try to squeeze it into next year’s anthology.
