Book Buddies

This half term our school reading for pleasure theme was ‘Book Buddies’. Each class took it in turns to visit other classes to share their love of reading. Children were able to talk about their favourite books, find out about new books, read to one another, and make recommendations. ‘Book Buddies’ is an informal and relaxed time to explore books and magazines. The children take ownership of this time choosing where and how to share a love of reading. Talking about reading and books helps develop an intrinsic motivation to read.

Adults were also involved by talking about books and why they love reading. It was wonderful to see children come together across the pages to learn from one another and share experiences. ‘Book Buddies’ has prompted lots of book talk and the children were always excited about their next session. It is always wonderful to see children inspired by one another.

Simon James - Author Visit

On Friday 9^th June children across school will enjoy an inspiring visit from award winning author, Simon James. Some of Simon’s popular books include: The Day Jake Vacuumed, Dear Greenpeace, Frog and Beaver, and The Boy Who Went to Mars. Mrs Bastin and Mrs Oliver recently attended a reading for pleasure conference and were inspired by Simon’s talk. They were keen for the children at Preston Primary to share this experience as well. Simon is an engaging and charismatic speaker and will spend time with each unit sharing his stories and passion for books. Children will be able to ask Simon about his experiences and creativity for writing and illustrating.

At the end of the school day there will be an exciting opportunity for you to purchase some of Simon’s most popular books, and he will personally sign them for the children. We will provide more information regarding the location and timings of the book signing after half term. We wanted to make you aware of it now so that children could potentially start saving to make a purchase.

We are very grateful to FOPPS (Friends of Preston Primary School) for kindly funding this visit. We are very excited to welcome Simon next half term.

24 hour Reading Rivers – Well done!

Being a reader does not only mean reading books. The aim of the ’24 hour Reading River’ is to help children understand the importance of reading and that reading is all around them - they are reading all of the time.

Thank you so much to all the children who created a 24 hour Reading River. It has been wonderful hearing children talk about the reading that they do daily. There was a real appreciation that reading is all around us. Being able to display these in class has prompted lots of discussion. We will be combining the 24 hour reading rivers from across the school to create a display in the school corridor. If your child has not brought in their 24 hour Reading River but would still like to create one, we would always encourage them to bring one in. Thank you for your continued support in creating a whole school reading culture.

Building a Reading Community

Key Stage 1 Rock Up and Read

This half term, Key Stage 1 held two ‘Rock Up and Read’ sessions. This was a chance for parents to come into the classroom and enjoy reading for pleasure with their child. They shared stories, poems, magazines, and non-fiction books. It was wonderful to see families sharing a love of reading.

Foundation Poetry and Song Recital

To support early reading, children in Foundation enjoy singing and learning poetry. These early literacy skills help children to learn new vocabulary and promote a love of language. This half term, the children performed a repertoire of poems and songs to their parents. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the performance and were very impressed with their clarity, delivery, and expression.

Here is a link to a poem and a song from Foundation. https://youtu.be/JaE_unIFeQI

Royal Reads

Children across the school enjoyed celebrating and learning about the coronation of King Charles III. In recognition of this memorable occasion, we would like to share some books about Kings (some real and some fictional).

1. The King’s Pants by Nicholas Allan.

2. The King’s Hats by Sheila May & Mark Beech.

3. King of the Swamp by Catherine Emmett & Ben Mantle.

4. The New King by Roger Hargreaves.

5. Amazing Facts: King Charles III by Hannah Wilson & Chris Dickason.

6. The King Who Banned the Dark by Emily Haworth-Booth.

7. The Cat and the King by Nick Sharatt.

8. King of the Sky by Nicola Davies & Laura Carlin.

9. Winnie the Pooh Meets the King by Jane Riordan & Andrew Grey.

Staff Videos

Staff have recorded themselves reading from some of their favourite books. This includes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Here are a selection for you to enjoy:

Mrs Braddon – I Wonder Why Spiders Spin Webs - https://youtu.be/09DB7fupjYo

Miss Farmer - Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers -  https://youtu.be/NWIHKqOH0TY

Mrs Shepherd - Room on the broom - https://youtu.be/L2Ansb0AJco

National Literacy Trust Coronation Booklist

To mark the Coronation of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen Consort in May, the National Literacy Trust, in partnership with digital bank, Chase, ran a very special 2023 Children’s Book Celebration to crown the top 23 children’s books, and here are the results. These are the most popular books as voted by children across the UK. Have you read any of these books? Are there any of these books that you haven’t read but would like to? Would you have voted for a different book? Share your thoughts amongst friends and family.

Did you know…

Her Majesty the Queen has her own online book club called ‘The Queen’s Reading Room’. It is a charity working to provide opportunities for the appreciation of literature among adults and children in the UK and around the world. Here is a link to her website.  Children Chosen by Her Majesty Archives - Reading Room (royalreadingroom.uk)