Books, Books, Books...

One day, when I was a little girl in primary school, my classmates and I were reading individual story books when home time came and we were told, in no uncertain terms, that we had to leave the books on the shelf. The problem was, my book had me absolutely enthralled. It was about a young girl who brought a donkey home and her mum was about to find it in their sitting room. I couldn’t possibly leave it until the next day to find out what happened next, so I sneakily placed the book in my bag and shuffled out of school with it.

I pulled it out again as soon as I got home, hid in a quiet corner and read the rest of it as fast I could, so that I could take it back to my classroom the next day before anyone noticed. I knew it was wrong and I felt terribly guilty, but I was totally overcome by the powerful appeal of well written literature, and it’s kept me firmly in its grasp ever since.

Throughout my childhood I remember speed reading my way through Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Judy Blume and then on to literary classics. Even now, I find few things more appealing than going to bed early with a book that I’m thoroughly engrossed in.

I have a strong penchant for the magical realism style of Latin American authors, which was kick-started with Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. I was totally gripped by her compelling combination of poignancy, wit and romance. I read it all in one night when I was in my late teens and was so overcome by the ending I cried until dawn!

My all time favourite author, however, has to be Gabriel Garcia Marquez. After losing myself in the vivid, spellbinding world of Love In The Time of Cholera, I truly thought no other book could ever compare…until I read One Hundred Years of Solitude. I love the blurred lines between fantasy and reality, with his passionate, lyrical description pulling me into an enchanted world of unputdownable appeal.

Fortunately my children seem to share my love of books. My eldest daughter Ruby, in particular, has been known to determinedly stay awake until the early hours so that she can race through just a few more chapters. She devoured the hefty Percy Jackson books with admirable dedication, even taking them on short car journeys so she could reach the next twist that little bit sooner. Nowadays she has a firm preference for historical fiction and can often be found curled up with her head in a novel.

This month, my younger children dressed up as literary characters for World Book Day at school. In years gone by we’ve managed to cobble together outfits for the likes of Hermione Granger, Piper McLean and Belle, and this year certainly matched the others with the level of enthusiasm and excitement that it induced.

After much consideration, ten year old Mia decided to be David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny. I was quietly thrilled that she’d chosen one of his characters as I absolutely love his books and was happy that she might inspire her siblings to read them. She looked very convincing and relished her look as a pensioner bandit!

Seven year old Ivy chose to be Library Mouse’s friend, Sarah. I was really touched by her kindness because she orginally had her heart set on being Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, but when her little brother changed his mind about being Library Mouse after I’d already purchased a mouse hoodie, she offered to wear it instead. It’s so typical of Ivy’s good nature.

My four year old twins, Oscar and Arlo, have been a bit addicted to What The Ladybird Heard lately, to the point where Oscar can recite it off by heart! So he was determined to be Hefty Hugh, one of the burglars. He was so taken with his mask and swag bag he declared, “When I grow up I want to be a real burglar Mama!” Of course, the villainous appeal of Oscar’s outfit became too much for Arlo to bear and he insisted on swapping his whiskers for stripes too.

I loved seeing how delighted they were about their literary get-up and how proudly they walked around the school field during the costume parade, surrounded by some wonderful Matildas, Alice in Wonderlands, Dumbledores and Mr. Stinks.

It was a great day that I fully support, firing the childrens’ imaginations and fuelling their enthusiasm for literature. I also hope that, in this digital age, little events like this will help to ensure that the increasing preoccupation with screens will never be outweighed by the look, smell and feel of a book, whose pages can transport you to a whole other world. Who knows, maybe one day they too will be pulling all-nighters, crying from the unprecedented impact of a South American novel! Fingers crossed...