Reading Story

The first book I can remember my mother reading to me was that of clumsy ‘Mr Bump’ from the Mr Men series. I adored those books and the quirky characters that featured in them. I recall my father frequently reading classic fairytale stories, for some reason Snow White sticks in my memory. We still have a tape of my father reading it to both my sister and myself in a strong German accent. My father had not long lived in Britain and the accent was still very obvious, this made early story telling all the more memorable.

There are a few books which stand out in my mind considerably, such as ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. I was envious of the young child creeping out at the dead of night to the forest to see the monsters! I wanted to join him in his adventures. Every Christmas Eve, religiously my mother read the poem ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas’ by Clement Clarke Moore to me. This was my earliest brush with poetry and it came in a beautifully illustrated book. It was absolutely fantastic and I vividly remember Christmas Eve being complete when this book was read to me, not only was I anticipating the arrival of ‘Father Christmas’, the suspense and charm of the rhyme in the book captivated me.

As you can imagine my early childhood is somewhat blurred as to exactly when and where my first reading experience was? My mother recalls that I could read before school although most of it was from memory apparently. I apparently enjoyed memorising Mr Men books. I also know from what my mother tells me I valued pictures so much so that my first ever library book was one with no words only pictures. Bet she didn’t think I’d end up on an English PGCE then.

I remember reading Enid Blyton’s ‘Magic Faraway Tree’ with great enthusiasm, I mean who thinks that climbing to the top of a tree ladder which leads you to a magic land isn’t absolutely miraculous. I also remember receiving a lovely Lewis Carroll book from my aunty containing both ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’. Naturally Roald Dahl books featured heavily in my youth, particularly the ‘BFG’ who looked uncannily like my Grandad, obviously height wise there was a difference.

Just before my teens I remember even creating my own top ten and writing lyrics to the top ten songs. I was an avid buyer of a magazine called ‘Smash Hits’ solely interested in the song lyrics which appeared in them so much so that I would make up my own. Just before my teens I remember even creating my own top ten and writing lyrics to the top ten songs. This is a testament to my passion for the written word and also highly amusing to look back on!

Before I hit my teens song lyrics and singing were my main pleasures particularly as I had started taking singing lessons. As I moved into my teens a change took place and various fads began to take place for example there was a ‘Point Horror’ craze in school and those in my friendship circle and beyond would discuss these books and share them with one another. Around this time I read a book called ‘Go ask Alice’ by Beatrice Sparks, probably the first book I read which tackled quite serious, gritty issues such as abandonment and drug addiction. Cheery I know but it was a challenge to read something which tackled serious issues.



My introduction to Shakespeare was in year 9 at school and it was Romeo and Juliette with the help and support of an incredibly supportive teacher my enthusiasm for Shakespeare and literature grew. I began a love pf plays and remember being blown away when we took a school trip to see ‘Blood Brothers’ at the theatre. Developing on my interest in drama and plays I took part in the ‘Half a Sixpence ‘ (Book by Beverly Cross) play at school. Set in Edwardian England the costumes and setting were fascinating to me. I have since realised that the play is based on a novel by H.G. Wells called ‘ Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul.’

Moving on to sixth form a book which I read in this period that stands out to me is ‘Holy Smoke’ by Anna Campion, this book deals with the pursuit of spirituality and was incredibly psychological. This I enjoyed profusely and it was one of the precursors to studying psychology at A’Level. A’Level English literature was amazing we read ‘Othello’ which I still think is great along with ‘One flew over the Cuckoos Nest’ by Ken Kesey. I could not put this book down. For a book to raise so many questions regarding sanity and ‘what is normal behaviour? This gave me much food for thought and I felt the book created a revelation in thought. My Teacher’s love of this book was successfully passed onto me and still today it remains one of my favourite books of all time. I remember being amazed at the power of the Teachers enthusiasm and passion for literature.

At university I joined a drama society and joined the chorus in the musical ‘Blitz’ by Lionel Bart. This was an interesting world war two drama/love story. I didn’t enjoy the costume quite so much in this one. But it definitely provoked a lot of thought about the war time and what it must have been like to live and have a partner during that period. This urged me to read war time dramas such as ‘Birdsong’. It’s only as I sit here writing this that I realise how my book choices were shaped by what I was experiencing at the time.

During my time at University I embarked on a little travelling, my first travelling experience in Tanzania, Africa. It was the biggest culture shock of my life but I was incredibly humbled and overwhelmed by the good natured, marvellous people that I met. Visiting foreign countries gives a visual and kinaesthetic reference to books that are set in them. For example ‘Half a Yellow Sun’ by Chiminanda Ngozi Adichie, a great author with a gift for telling true stories this one was about moral responsibility, the end of colonialism, ethnic allegiances, class and race. My reading experience was only enhanced by my having been to the continent I was able to have a realistic visual image. Similarly when reading ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Sarah Dunant I learnt about some of the history of Florence and had just come back from holiday there. Luckily for me the politics, religion and plague epidemic in history were cosily embedded in a fascinating story of a women’s struggle, artistic flair and love story. This is another of my favourite books which taught me that embedded within fictional stories you can accrue a good understanding of events and politics in history.


Whilst being at University I remember receiving a small book from a friend at called ‘The Little Book of One Liners’, I have always been a fan of quotes and witty sentiments.

After leaving University my support worker role with an autistic child prompted me to read ‘The curious incident of the dog in the night time’ by Mark Haddon. This allowed me to see through the eye of an autistic child and developed my understanding of both how to cope and try to help the child that I cared for. This lead me on to read other books which I felt would help me progress both in career and develop personally, psychological books such as ‘Emotional Intelligence’ by Daniel Goleman. This thought provoking book challenges our often hasty emotional response to events that can have a detrimental affect and urges us to see the benefits in higher order thinking. This book was very insightful I enjoyed it tremendously, books like this challenge the way one thinks and can be very powerful. I was also recently given a book by author and Educational Psychologist Torey Hayden, as a recent birthday present and am keen to read this. Books like this can only inform my conduct as a Teacher and develop deeper understanding of special needs within education.

Although there is a daunting number of classics and literature which I am yet to acquaint myself with for this course, I am still enthused by the prospect and will do what I can to read as widely as possible. Most of all I’d like to maintain my intimate relationship with literature and never tire of new innovative styles of writing and exciting content. I can muster as much enthusiasm about Roald Dahl as I can about Thomas Hardy. Any book which provokes the imagination is a success.


‘Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.’

Lauren Bacall, b 1924 American actress

Hey you,
I still have my Mr Bump rucksack!! I collected lots of Mr Men stuff and loved watching it on telly. The modern version is terrible though, what ever you do, DON'T watch it as it will destroy your memories!
I too worked with autistic children and found reading up on strategies really insightful. It stays with you, doesn't it?
Kay x

I want to hear you sing now!