It is hard for me to consider how to foster a love of reading in young people who might not already do so, simply because it has always come so naturally to me! I’m coming to this degree from a secondary English teaching background, but driven primarily for my deep passion for literature. To appropriate a well-known quote from the philosopher Socrates: I read, therefore I think. I am, therefore I read.
I grew up on a solid diet of Enid Blyton, classic children’s texts such as The Hobbit and The Secret Garden, and a steady supply of horse books. I spent the afternoons after school in the public library, which acted as after school care – I’d meet my mother when she finished work and the Library closed. I used to sit in a bean bag in the corner of the middle grade fiction section, and read and dream. Fiction was a way for me to be transported into experiences beyond my own, gaining insight and perspectives I would not otherwise have gained. From the comfort of my bean bag, I visited Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, marvelled at the fantastical lands at the top of the Faraway Tree, rode horses alongside Norah from Billabong, shared in the adventures of the hobbits of Middle Earth.
Now, I have children of my own and I work in a high school Library, and I get to visit these literary worlds all over again. I have noticed that children’s literature is getting more diverse with its representations – on reflection, most of the protagonists of my own youth represented the same cultural group, and none of them had a disability, or identified as LGBT+, or anything else. A modern trend in children’s literature is for texts (even fantasy texts) to more clearly represent real life and the complex issues experienced by young people. Younger readers find tougher themes in their books these days.
I’ve noticed it as an English teacher over the past decade, too. Texts we used to teach to Stage 4 are now often taught by the local primary schools to Stage 3. Texts like Holes by Louis Sachar (deals with racism, prejudice, juvenile justice) are now read by students in Years 5 and 6. Students are exposed to more these days, and are ready for more, for the most part.