The Reading Companions (handbooks)
Our whole approach is directed at the children themselves. We believe that young people are completely underestimated. They are capable of just about anything if given the right tools.
The tools we give them are themed sets of specially written stories and a collection of wild and wonderful books to lead them into more reading. We used to call our own story collections handbooks. That sounds far too much like school. So now we are calling them Companions, and explaining clearly that companions mean friends, helpers … supporters. Each Reading Companion has about 120 pages of completely fresh, previously unpublished stories, poems, challenges, projects and reading ideas. They give help with training to be a better reader and a more confident writer. They stimulate critical thinking and creative, imaginative ideas.
They are the most important component in the toolboxes and have been the basis of all our work with children over the last fourteen years. It might be time for an example of how this works: In the RED READING TOOLBOX, there are three themes – BOOKS AND STORIES, BRAVERY and IMAGINATION.
The stories and poems and many of the non-fiction texts were written by Lesley Beake who is a multiple award-winning author of more that 120 books for children and young people in South Africa – www.lesleybeake.co.za
As this series grows, we will be able to include more writers and poets and make useful contact with those working in non-fiction. For a small start-up NPO like Children’s Book Network, this has proved impossible – so far. This project is not a static one, however. There will be change and growth – there are a hundred new ideas waiting to be tested.
This is only the beginning!
