Brave girls read books
MORE kids can name Youtuber r Zoella than Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and just a fifth know Aslan an from The Chronicle of Narnia.
Research from Sainsbury’s reveals eveals child literacy is on the decline with few youngsters able to identify y characters from classic kids’ stories. ories.
Only half of children read for r fun, preferring to watch TV, Youtube e or play on tablets.
And Government data reveals als pupils at 7,151 mainstream primary imary schools in England have a lower er reading age than they should, while one in eight schools have no library. brary.
It’s incredibly sad – particularly arly for young girls struggling with their identity in the image-obsessed d world of social media. Because I found some great female role models in the books I loved as a child.
Like Scout Finch, the headstrong, inquisitive, six-year-old ar-old narrator of Harper Lee’s To o Kill A Mockingbird.
I learned about t inequality through gh Scout’s innocent t eyes and observations.
Then there’s Jo March in Louisa May y Alcott’s Little Women (played on film by Winona Ryder, inset). I still cry thinking of Jo arriving home proudly clutching ng the $25 that will allow Marmee e to rush to her sick father’s bedside. de. Her three sisters are baffled about where she got the cash until tomboy omboy Jo takes off her bonnet.
“Your beautiful hair! Oh Jo, how could you?!”
Jo sold her “one beauty” to a wig maker, defying convention n for the sake of her family.
I’m sure Zoella is a great role e model, but Scout and Jo can still till teach today’s kids valuable lessons sons about being true to themselves. s.