In our final week of this half term, the Junior Librarian, Theo from Hawk class, shares with you a favourite read.

Theo recommends The Magic Finger written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake.

Theo’s reason for his choice:

“Roald Dahl is one of my favourite authors and I think this is his funniest story!”

Mrs Harvey would also support Theo’s choice. We have two versions of this in famous Dahl story – one with wonderfully vivid colour illustrations (Theo’s choice) and the other is the more traditional version with the original black and white pictures. Dahl is one of the most popular and beloved children’s authors in the English language. His innovative and quirky stories have stood the test of time and enraptured children and adults alike. We have an extensive range of Roald Dahl books and poetry available for loan from our Grimsdell Library.

Mrs Harvey would also recommend incorporating chapter books into your child’s reading repertoire. Texts such as Matilda would be a chapter book to explore and read to a Year 2 child, to ensure good understanding of vocabulary and concepts covered. Roald Dahl also has written some early chapter books, The Magic Finger and Picture Books, such as The Enormous Crocodile, that would be suitable for all Grimsdell children. Early chapter books are simple, short, illustrated fiction. They are written and designed to help newly independent readers build their reading stamina, strengthen their confidence in book selection and develop a sense of themselves as readers.

As a child transitions from a beginning reader who needs to sound out each word to a more advanced reader who is starting to decode faster and follow longer, more complicated stories, early chapter books often tend to become the reading material of choice when a child is around the ages of 7 or 8. These stories can be read independently but they should also be shared with an adult, so that your child is encouraged to think about the plot/character and to make predictions about what might occur in the following chapters. This helps to build a sense of anticipation.

Variety is key in establishing a lifelong reader and Picture Books still have a vital role to play in the development of Reception and Key Stage 1 readers. Research shows that Picture Books has a direct and positive impact on children’s literacy. Children who are given opportunities to read and respond to Picture Books throughout their primary years learn about sophisticated narrative structure, plot and character development in an accessible way. A focus on reading illustration helps to develop children’s deeper comprehension skills, allowing them additional opportunities to infer, deduce, think critically and empathise.

Happy Reading!

Mrs Harvey