Born to Read

As a child I was a voracious reader. I can’t imagine a childhood without The Famous Five, Mallory Towers and Huckleberry Finn, with dreams of adventures, dorm rooms and ginger beer. Those stories shaped my childhood, gave me hopes and dreams, provided an escape and so much happiness.

I’ve had the immense pleasure of helping and watching my son learn to read, and again with my eldest daughter, who is just starting to find the fun in being able to read by herself. Not a day goes by where we don’t all read together. Z, a very able reader for his age, has found a passion for non-fiction books, often losing himself in facts about space or scary looking bugs.

Books are already such a huge part of life for all my children, with Z binding books and writing stories, S making us giggle as she sounds out words and H making endless requests for ‘Stickman’. I can’t imagine a life without books.

Shockingly thousands of children in the UK don’t have this same access to books and help with reading, these children often become so behind at school that it becomes almost impossible to catch up. Save The Children have just launched a new campaign Born to Read  in partnership with Beanstalk – to get 23,000 children across the UK reading over the next four years.

Here are a few ways in which you can help.