Review in
Speaking English
magazine
The library was a
place to be avoided when I was at school:
unnatural silence was heavily enforced by
legalised bullies called prefects, and the
room, a lovely one as it happened, was just
plain dull. Nothing happened there and that
was the point: the library contained,
reverentially, all the books. Access to the
printed word needed silence for undisturbed
communion.
Later as an
English teacher, amazingly possessing a
lifelong love of literature, I found too many
libraries to be lifeless places, peripheral,
outside the ebb and flow of the communities
they served. They were unmanned and their
most precious resource was, so often, the
space they offered to sharp-eyed
teachers.
You would think
that present day youngsters, with a mobile
telephone welded to the side of their heads
and the permanent lure of internet
friendships and experiences, would have
little interest in plain old books and the
substantial reading they require. Yet it’s
not only Master Potter who causes a youthful
literary storm but authors like Michael
Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson sell hugely to
those very same
youngsters.
Great Library
Ideas provides a large
part of the reason why reading still
flourishes in the pressured lives of so many
children. Within these pages, librarians and
teachers are served a huge range of well
tried and tested activities in and around the
library. Gone is that reverential silence,
driven out by murders, quizzes and
competitions, treasure hunts and blind dates!
Many have contributed their favourite
activities and the editor, Claire Larson, has
ensured that each idea is clearly described
and resourced. The book is clear and brief,
and fun and enthusiasm easily brighten its
monochrome pages.
The regular
format ensures that each idea is speedily
accessed and assessed, by librarians
certainly, but also by teachers of older
primary children and of all secondary
students. This book is realistic enough to
suggest providing personal stereos to enhance
the learning climate and modern enough to
encourage some lively word games like Sending
a Text Message to a Book
Character!
And the murder? I
couldn’t possibly tell
you…
Peter
Gibley
Speaking English
journal, Autumn 2008
