In celebration of The Reading Hour, this Saturday 24 August from 5pm to 6pm, we are thrilled to have ambassador Andy Griffiths join us with this fabulously fun interview--all about reading!
What is reading?
Moving your eyes rapidly back and forth over a piece of paper with little black marks and, if you're lucky, pictures on it.
What does reading mean to you?
Entering an imaginative space where the normal rules of everyday life don't apply. You can live out your fantasies and experience your fears in a vivid but completely safe way.
Where do you like to read?
At the lounge room table, on a plane, in bed, in a library, pretty much anywhere!
Where do your kids like to read?
In bed mostly.
Is there a special reading spot in The 39-Storey Treehouse?
Yes, we have a library full of comic books!
What do you think reading does to a child’s brain?
It lets a child experience events and emotions from the points of view of other people. It supplies an incredible amount of knowledge about the world and how it works and how they can find a happy productive place within it.
Why should parents and carers be reading to children every day?
Books are really just written down words and words come from speech. The more you can soak a developing child's brain in the rhythms of written language the easier it will be for them to be able to put it all together for themselves when they are ready.
How many minutes should they put aside to read to these kids?
I'd say a minimum of 30 minutes every day. There is no maximum.
What will happen to the parents and carers if they don’t read to children every day?
They'll miss out on a whole heap of great stories as well as a really special time with their children.
And what will happen to the kids?
They'll miss out on a whole heap of great stories as well as a really special time with their parents.
What will you be doing during The Reading Hour? What will you be reading?
I'll be at an event in Melbourne at the BMW edge theatre with Sally Rippin, Ann James and Morris Gleitzman and a few hundred children and parents. I'm planning to read from my new picture book, Ed and Ted and Ted's dog Fred.
Get your ticket right here!
Learn more about Andy's books at www.andygriffiths.com.au and make sure you check out his full tour for The 39-Storey Treehouse, right here!
Head to The Reading Hour website to see more sensational reading events, happening in a town near you. And don't miss KBR's supersonic Facebook Photo Challenge. You could win some sensational books from Random House just by posting your Reading to Kids photos! More soon.
