Why reading is so important for children
Reading is one of the indicators of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.
Designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, World Book Day is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. You can follow World Book Day they have lots of resources and ideas for use at school and home:
For World Book Day this year we have been thinking about the benefits of books. Books open our imagination and allow us to travel to another world as well as providing education, which in turn provides children with choices on how they wish to live their lives.
During Covid-19 access to books have been more important than ever to keep everyone learning and to keep some of us company. Although some people have reported they have found it difficult to read a book during this time.
Ideas for World Book Day
We have pulled together a few ideas for World Book Day to help you explore and ramp up your creativity and imagination.
• Try a book in another language or dialect. World Book Day have their first Welsh language title in this year’s £1 book offerings.
• Check out out your local library as they often have on-line events and you can reserve books on-line until the time comes when you can visit and choose your own books in person.
• Have a look at our ‘Home Learning Resources 2021’ resource pack on our website. On page 18 you will find out how to access lots of free books online. https://www.stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk/resources
• Get involved with the Open Library, the aim is to create a page for every book ever published to create an online library, like Wikipedia for books.
Book Clubs
Many people report that belonging to a book club really motivates them to read regularly as well as being able to connect with people all over the world. Here’s a few that we have been exploring.
• Read quietly, with others online in over 100 cities. Follow the Facebook group for author events and you might even be encouraged to start your own local book club. It’s free too.
• A group for readers of translated fiction. Fortnightly on-line calls with opportunities to meet the authors and translators. They only publish books that can be translated in 200 pages and takes the same time to read as it takes to watch a film.
• Members can choose 2 books each month which are based on the theme of strong women. On-line discussion is available each month.
• Sign up to receive a mystery book through the post each month on a topical theme, which members choose through voting. There are on-line discussions groups and monthly meet-ups.
• A book club for non-fiction books that meets twice monthly and offers meet-ups with authors and community connections.
• You can support the provision of books globally by signing up to the reverse book club.
Independent Book Shops
We have also been enjoying browsing some independent book shops. Did you know that some of the online book conglomerates use algorithms to suggest books and there are loads of wonderful books out there but they might never get suggested in the mainstream. We are missing out on some wonderful books as we are discouraged from exploring by the “suggested for you” algorithms.
Here is our pick of independent book shops that you might like to try:
Useful Resources
You can find great resources on these websites:
Thank you, we hope you have enjoyed this post and have found some useful idea and resources to further your enjoyment of books.
Steve Sinnott Foundation • March 2, 2021
Mike Fleetham of Thinking Classroom has written a book " Headlines: Inspiration, humour and advice for school leaders ". A collection of original ideas, advice from professionals, quotes, and tips to support and inspire all leaders. Perfect for new and established leaders working in education, especially headteachers. "Being a headteacher is like looking both ways before you cross the road, and then getting hit by an aeroplane." To Enter the Competition To win a copy of Headlines please share your inspiring education or life lesson in no more than 600 words. The winning article will also be published in our next edition of Engage. Send your words of inspiration to admin@stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk 📅 Deadline: 5th September 2025 Stuck on Ideas? Here are some questions and prompts to get you started! What’s the one lesson school didn’t teach you, but life did? Think of a moment that changed your path, what happened? What piece of advice has helped you grow the most? When did a challenge turn into an opportunity for you? What story from your life would inspire someone on the other side of the world? What’s the life lesson that unlocked your next chapter? Your words could uplift, empower and be seen by many. Let your story inspire the world! 🌍💡 Good luck and we cant wait to read all the entries!
This week our CEO Ann and Jude (SSF Ambassador) visited schools in Coventry and heard about the wonderful work that students are doing to foster peace and community connection, as part of Coventry Arts Week. We visited Lyng Hall school in the morning and met with Ms Hagan and four of the schools UNESCO ASPnet ambassadors. They told us all about their recent project. The students took their art and poetry to the 80th Anniversary symposium in Ypres and Dunkirk. They shared with us some of the poetry they had written together with the students on the field trip and some of their own poems too. They also shared their future plans for working with their local primary school on peace and community. We also had the privilege of joining Ms Hagans class where they were looking at Caliban’s tale. Here is one of the students work
For my birthday this year I had the honour to walk 60 miles (yes it was a big 0 birthday) over 3 days to support the essential work of the Steve Sinnott Foundation of which I am CEO. Education in its many forms is essential for all of us to thrive and make the most of life's opportunities. The Foundation works to ensure that as many children and adults as possible across the globe can access the human right of education. The plan was to walk with friends and supporters who I hoped would keep me smiling along the way and it felt like a good way to make use of the Foundation’s “Get Moving” campaign. Here's how my Get Moving Fundraiser went on the first day. The 13th June I started my walk in London by walking from Barnet to west Hampstead and visiting my sister at her shop at Tree of Life where I got served a nice iced coffee to keep me going.
