| Birthday
Books Birthdays
are red letter days in every child’s calendar and, under the Birthday Books
scheme, the Friends of West Pennard School hope to make birthdays extra
special by giving every child a book of their choice which is presented to
them in the week of their birthday.
The cost of the books is
subsidised by FWPS, but funds are also raised by selling books from
Scholastic catalogues twice a year. Vouchers worth between 20% and 30% of
these sales are returned to the school to spend on birthday books.
The Birthday Books scheme
is run by West Pennard School parent Arabella Browne, who also reviews
children’s books for
Booktrust, an independent national charity that encourages people of all
ages and cultures to discover and enjoy reading.
“I love seeing the
excited children coming in each month to choose their special birthday
book,” says Nicola. “Often children are introduced to new writers
through this scheme and it’s great when they come back and tell me how much
they’ve enjoyed their books.”
Authors include perennial
picture book favourites Mick Inkpen, Judith Kerr and Jez Alborough. Younger
independent readers often choose books by Jeremy Strong, Anne Fine, Dick
King-Smith and Roald Dahl. Older children pounce on books by Michael
Morpurgo, Louis Sachar, Philip Pullman, Malorie Blackman, SF Said and Celia
Rees.
Popular series include
those about Horrid Henry, Harry Potter, the Heartland pony stables, the
irrepressible Tracey Beaker and the young spy Alex Rider. |
