Giving the gift of reading

MY MOTHER read copiously to me as a child and I realise now, as an author of picture books, that this activity instilled in me a love of language and narrative.

As author, Eudora Welty said: “Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories”.

These stories offered me valuable bonding time with my mother and gave me insight into the nature of man, which set me thinking about the people around me.

For example, Hans Christian Anderson’s Brave Tin Soldier, who, unlike 24 others, only had one leg because there was little tin left when he was crafted.

This tale showed how he coped optimistically, despite his handicap, but it also evoked compassion in me for those who are disadvantaged in life.

Sound literacy skills, acquired mostly by reading, are said to be a prerequisite for future academic success, but how many South African children are encouraged to read at home? How many South African homes are littered with books?

If children emulate others, how many people do they find at home with a passion for reading books, magazines and newspapers?

How many parents give books as gifts to their children – that can be reread until they are passed on to siblings or they fall apart?

Parents can set good examples by taking out library books or going to a bookstore, offering children the opportunity to browse the shelves and choose a book.

I’m a believer in shared reading, particularly for wobbly readers. If a beginner reader reads one page, followed by their parent reading another, it instils reading confidence.

Children and parents can read cereal boxes at breakfast and billboards on the way to school. Long journeys can be made interesting using audio books.

● Dianne Stewart is the author of Lyle the Crocodile, one of R250 000 worth of books the Nal’ibali campaign is gifting to more than 20 000 children in its network this World Book Day.

Nal’ibali is calling on the support of the public to increase the number of books per child by donating new or gently used books at public read-alouds this Friday.

For more information about the read-alouds, the Nal’ibali campaign, or to access children’s stories in a range of SA languages, visit www.nalibali.org .