Thursday 4 March 2021 is World Book Day and with reading becoming more popular than ever, English teacher Mrs McLarnon writes about why books are our friends:
It probably won’t surprise you to know that reading has surged in lockdown with a third of people reading much more in the last year. Young people are topping the charts of those reading the most, with fiction of all genres proving the most popular thing to read.
World Book Day on the 4 March is a chance to celebrate all that we love about books: the fact that they keep us company, allow us to escape our own world and offer a distraction from the current situation.
At school, it is often the case that we focus upon all the brilliant things that reading does for our brains: it helps to improve our concentration, boosts our vocabulary and builds our crystalised intelligence. In short, reading makes you smarter.
But more than this, in good times and bad, books are our friends. They help us to sleep better and feel better. They connect us to others when we can’t see our friends and they help us to feel empathy and belonging.
In short, there are very few problems that can’t be alleviated by a good book and very few situations that a cracking read won’t make better. At school, we have two on-line book clubs on the go at the moment and everyone is welcome to join. Just drop me an email at mclarnonc@heart-england.co.uk.
In the meantime, I hope that something on the recommended book list takes your fancy and whether you are reading fiction or non-fiction, new books or old favourites, I wish you all an entertaining, absorbing, escape from the hum drum of the everyday. Happy World Book Day 2021: I look forward to hearing all about your favourite things to read and to seeing your book inspired endeavours!