My ultimate goal is for the library to be the heartbeat of the school

This initiative from Children’s Books Ireland couldn’t have come at a better time for us. We were a couple of years into trying to a set up a library and advocate for a strong reading culture in the school, and I had found that we were getting a little tired. It wasn’t necessarily part of my role to build a library culture in the school, but I created it because I believe in it so much. It is a culture that I had seen in Australia, when I lived In Melbourne, where the library was the heartbeat of the school and I was determined to replicate that here.  

This has been an absolutely brilliant initiative from Children’s Books Ireland. It has come along and revived our library, and inspired our library committee. We have a group of transition year students on our library committee, and they’ve been so excited to see the books coming in. They labelled the books and they have been promoting the books to other students. They were so excited that the books have crossed a really broad range of interests, which was something we needed a little bit of help with because we don’t have the umbrella view on current reading trends that Children’s Books Ireland have. There’s an expertise there that we don’t have so we were really happy to tap into that. We really feel that you’ve nailed it with your choices for us. What we’ve got, particularly in terms of the cross section of graphic novels, the inclusion element, the LGBTQ, the beautiful Ukrainian books... it’s really brought a lifeblood back into our library and we’re so pleased to be involved. 

We’ve seen a renewed interest in books as a result. To have an outside body put a kind of an official stamp on things, you feel that you’re part of a bigger culture, and that it’s not just you – a tired old English teacher – that is coming in with this. Our teachers here are feeling the momentum of it and there is great excitement. A number of the staff came in to see the books when they arrived and they’re going back to their classes and spreading the good news. We’re all buzzing because of our involvement. It’s had that ripple effect on us just at the right time. We needed fresh perspective and fresh energy and we have that now. 

It has reignited an energy for reading and I’m not alone with experiencing this. The Principal is also absolutely thrilled to have the new books in the library. She has been a terrific advocate for reading in the school. So much so that she has taken students who struggle with literacy to the library with her and she encourages them to read. There’s a real new buzz around our school because of this so thank you for that. 

I’m very big on bringing along the least engaged readers and supporting them to find a book for them. I brought a student in here this morning, they were helping me with something and they’re not typically a reader, but  whilst they were here they said, ‘I’ll try and find a book I like.’ We try to engage the reluctant readers to find a book. We even joke about the sporty kids supporting us by strapping a book onto their hurley as they’re walking along to encourage readers! We are trying to reach every single reluctant reader and show them that this is fun. That they can come in here for fun. They get a bit of a buzz out of seeing me get a buzz from it as well and that enthusiasm spreads. 

I think there’s a really special connection for English teachers with books and reading. I had a student recently. He’s gone 30 years from me, and he insisted on dropping in an essay he wrote for me to give him feedback on. In order to teach literature, we must make it relatable, we have to be authentic, and we deliver more of ourselves in an English room to do this. I teach everything through books. I really do believe in that connection we make to others through stories.

My win is my reluctant readers. I have a couple of students from farming families and they prefer to speak ‘farm-speak’! That’s their favourite language! One came into the library the other day, and asked, ‘Have you any more of those Dirty Bertie books?’ It was such a boost. They’re finding books they love and engaging. The impact on those reluctant readers is powerful. Reading can give them that breathing space during stressful times. By the time they’re 20 minutes into the book, they don’t even realise they’re enjoying reading, but they are! That’s the joy. And I see that, and I see it all the time. I’ve had more and more of these moments since the start of this programme; students say to me, ‘That’s the first time I ever read a book’ or students talking to me about the books they are reading. That’s brilliant. 

About Every Child a Reader 

Every Child A Reader brings several Children’s Books Ireland school book-gifting programmes together under one name. Drawing on the organisation’s vision, we want every child in the selected schools to be reading more, enjoying reading more and reading more widely. We hope to enable positive, sustainable changes in these schools by providing brilliant books, engaging resources, and inspiring visits from Champions of Reading.