Reading advice from local authors
Advice and words of inspiration from local writers Berlie Doherty and Conrad Burdekin.
Berlie Doherty
Berlie Doherty is the author of over 60 books for children, teenagers and adults, and has written many plays for radio, theatre and television.
She is a local writer and she is very passionate about visiting schools and talking to children about the power of reading and writing.
She spoke to us about how children can use their imagination and support around them to help them read more.
Here are some ideas for choosing books
What’s the best book you’ve ever read? Why do you love it? How did you choose it?
You can follow an author, if you love their books. You can follow a series, if you know you love them.
You can ask your friends about their favourite books. You can follow your interests.
Any bookshop owner or librarian will help you if you ask for a story about horses, Vikings, families, schools, space, dolphins - there isn’t a subject that hasn’t been written about!
What are you crazy about? You’ll find someone has written a story about it.
Here are some books that I love
Tom’s Midnight Garden, by Philippa Pierce.
The Firework Maker’s Daughter, by Philip Pullman.
The Midnight Guardians by Ross Montgomery
The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Andersen.
Reading will fill your head with dreams, ideas, knowledge, people, places, pictures – you won’t know what to do with them all! Write about them!
If you love stories, you’ll always be a dreamer. Like me.
Have fun! Happy reading,
Berlie
Conrad Burdekin
A proud Yorkshireman, Conrad Burdekin is a fun, unique, and enthusiastic writer, storyteller and poet who inspires children up and down the country to want to write and he has visited over 200 schools. Check out his website here.
Conrad has a YouTube channel and below are two of his videos about reading.
A poem about reading The power of reading and writing!
The South Yorkshire Reading Guarantee
The South Yorkshire Guarantee has been produced in collaboration by partners across Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster. It is designed to offer schools the tools to reflect on and review practice, which then result in actions and plans to develop Reading for Pleasure, early reading and phonics.
Visit the webpage here.