We have been celebrating World Book Day and the power of reading this week. Monday began with an epic assembly, created by Ms Taylor’s Literacy Prefects and the Library Club, celebrating the evolution of the book with a story read by staff and students: My Name is Book by John Agard. Through poetry and prose, we heard the journey of the book in its own words, from the first oral tales to clay tablets, papyrus to the paperback.
Tuesday was a Reading for Pleasure special as Form Classes shared their favourite books with one another and took the opportunity to exchange their books in the library- running during form time for one week only (thanks to the Library Club)!
On Wednesday students spent Reflection Time exploring extracts and author videos from this year’s World Book Day books – available for free from supermarkets and bookshops using the tokens handed out by Literacy Leaders.
Finally there have been numerous activities and competitions for students to get involved in over the week: from the Marden English podcast and accompanying challenge, to a creativity competition, recommendations and reviews, and creative writing – all inspired by reading. A wonderful way to celebrate the power of the book and win some house points! We are looking forward to seeing the entries and hearing the winners, available to view on the Literacy Cloud.
In celebration of our love of reading here at Marden, here is a poem- featured in Agard’s book- and written by poet Grace Nichols:
The books I love
are well fingered and thumbed
have tiny butter smudges
may harbour a crumb
the odd cat-whisker
a few dog-ears
a drop of tear
a brownish stain
(that looks suspiciously like tea)
I for one, am glad to say,
do not judge a book
by its cover
but flit first among its leaves
like a hummingbird
sipping at a flower
The books I love
I must admit
do not sit
behind a museum of glass.
No the books I love
get kissed and squeezed
and pressed against my heart.
