BOOK SMART
To celebrate World Book Day on March 4, CHARLOTTE HEATHCOTE asks some children’s authors to tell us about their favourite reads
NOT even a global pandemic can stop World Book Day. While kids may not be able to go into school dressed as their favourite characters, they can still get involved because all of this year’s events are taking place online.
To get you in the mood and find out why books are so important, we asked some World
Book Day authors about their own favourite reads…
Which book ignited your love of reading?
Katherine Rundell: I loved The Hobbit and longed for a magic ring. And reading Diana Wynne Jones’s books showed me that books for children could bew funny and wry and ironical and vivid and ambitious. She was a true genius.
Joseph Coelho: The Cat In The Hat by Dr Seuss. There was something very comforting in the idea that you can occasionally allow things to be chaotic and fun without everything falling apart.
Alexander Bellos: The Hobbit.
Zanib Mian: Chicken Licken, a Ladybird First Favourite Tales book. I was drawn in by the silly rhyming names of the animals.
Jonny Duddle: Where The Wild
Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I would draw the Wild Things myself, or make up my own, and now that’s my job.
If you could be a character in a children’s book, who would it be?
AB: And
Charlie Bucket from Charlie The Chocolate Factory because I like chocolate. In moderation, of course.
JC: Peter Pan so I could visit Neverland, annoy the pirates and fly!
KR: Moonintroll in Tove Jansson’s Moomin books. Moomintroll has some superb adventures and is endlessly curious about the world.
ZM: I couldn’t get enough of the Dr Seuss books so it would probably be one of his zany characters.
JD: Max in Where The Wild Things Are. The biggest attraction would be a wild rumpus with the Wild Things, dressed in a wolf suit.
Why is reading important to you?
ZM: I was a bit socially awkward as a child. Reading was magical, it gave me an escape into worlds other than my own, full of possibilities and acceptance.
AB: Reading can help transport me to different worlds... and it makes me laugh.
JC: Reading opens up other worlds, it allows the chance to walk in the shoes of others, to take a stroll around someone else’s head, to see how they think and to discover new ideas.
JD: I drift towards books that help me escape real life, the fantastical and strange. So reading helps me relax, to get away from screens and the stresses of life.
Books are the closest thing we have to... real tangible magic Author Katherine Rundell
What’s your favourite aspect of World Book Day?
JC: You get to visit schools and experience teachers and students in fancy dress or involved in craft activities all celebrating books. And it’s a joy to know that one day each year many young people get a book for free. For many, this will be the first book they’ve ever owned.
JD: It’s a day for children to think about the books they love and discover new ones.
Each year, I get sent pictures of children dressed as my characters, clutching battered, well-read copies of the books I’ve written, and that is so rewarding.
KR: Books are the closest thing we have to telepathy, the closest thing that we have to time travel, to real tangible magic: with every book you read, the interior world you inhabit grows larger.
DESIGNED, developed and engineered in Europe, the Kia Ceed Sportswagon merges individual style with space and practicality.
Lower, wider, and with a longer rear overhang than its predecessor; straight lines now replace roundedoff edges, while its Kia Stingerinspired nose and now familiar and ‘ice-cube’ LED daytime running lights also help it stand out.
Looking at it, it’s hard to believe it’s based on the same platform as its hatchback sibling. The wider body creates greater shoulder room for rear passengers, while a lower seating position creates more knee and leg room for them. Despite the low roofline, the platform and lowered front seating create greater front-row headroom.
KIA CEED SPORTSWAGON 1.4 T-GDI 3 DCT7 PRICE: £24,405
The lower rear bench ensures similar levels of headroom for rear passengers.
The interior of the vehicle is a pleasant place to spend time too, featuring quality black cloth trim and matching faux leather bolsters. There are also plenty of softtouch surfaces, glossy trim, and Kia’s easy-tonavigate 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system – itself handily angled slightly towards the driver. This features Bluetooth multi-connection, enabling occupants to connect two mobile devices at once, as well as Apple Carplay and Android Auto.
All versions are well equipped but the list of kit on the top ‘3’ grade is virtually endless – privacy glass, dual automatic air conditioning, automatic headlights, rain sensing wipers, electrically adjustable and also
heated door mirrors, reversing camera and rear parking sensors, LED front and rear lights, and front fog lights. You also get a smart leather-trimmed steering wheel, a six-speaker audio system with DAB radio, cruise control with speed limiter, front wiper de-icer, electric windows all-round, a fast charger for portable devices, and 17-inch alloy wheels.
That long rear overhang helps give it a boot size of 625 litres, plus there’s also an underfloor storage area for stowing smaller items, and a bag hook to prevent groceries rolling around the load bay.
The split-fold rear seats are fitted in a 40:20:40 configuration and can be folded remotely with a single touch from a lever just inside the tailgate. With the seats folded, the boot floor is completely flat and the space extends to 1,694 litres.
A choice of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid engines is available. There is a 1.0-litre petrol but if you need, or just prefer, a little more poke from your petrol, there is also the company’s 1.4-litre T-GDI, which on the ‘3’ grades comes matched to a seven-speed automatic dual-clutch transmission (DCT). It’s a bit clunky at times but is generally good enough.
The engine’s turbocharger ensures a wider torque band than the earlier 1.6-litre engine, making it more responsive in a wider range of driving conditions, while also reducing emissions. A plentiful 242Nm of torque is available from 1,500 to 3,200rpm. It’s officially capable of returning 44.8mpg though I managed just 33.3mpg.
The Ceed Sportswagon is not really what you’d call ‘a driver’s car’ but, as its ride was developed on European roads, it feels safe and stable, regardless of whether its cruising down the motorway or taking on a twisty stretch somewhere.
A fully independent suspension system provides drivers with more agile and immediate handling responses than you’d expect.
Electronic stability control and Kia’s Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) system fitted, helps reduce understeer. As well as seven airbags, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist, High Beam Assist, Driver Attention Warning, Hill Start Assist Control and Forward Collisionavoidance Assist – City are all included as standard.
Not bad for a car costing less than £25,000.
All versions are well equipped but the list of kit on the top ‘3’ grade is virtually endless