SCHOOLCHILDREN across the city and county are choosing their favourite picture books for the Our Best Picture Book competition.
The competition is run by the reading project Whatever it Takes, with support from schools, Leicester Libraries and Creative Learning Services.
This year’s competition also forms part of the National Year of Reading, encouraging people to ‘go all in’ and read for enjoyment, not as a chore - with the message that whatever you enjoy doing, you can read about it.
More than 2,900 Year 2 children – aged six to seven – have been taking part, along with their teachers and families. They have been discussing and voting for their favourite picture book from a shortlist of six, with the winner to be revealed on Monday 13th April.
To mark the National Year of Reading, LCFC mascot and Year of Reading supporter Filbert Fox joined children at Montrose School in Leicester as they discussed their favourite picture books. Although he’s not one for reading aloud, Filbert is a keen reader and was glad to help the children choose their favourite books.
Hayley Carter from Whatever It Takes said: “Our Best Picture Book is a really popular competition and has been running in Leicester and Leicestershire for seven years. The children’s enthusiasm is contagious and by talking about their favourite picture books at school and at home, they share the joy they are getting from reading. It’s a great project, particularly for the National Year of Reading, and we look forward to crowning the winner when all the votes are in!”
Lee Warner, head of neighbourhood services at Leicester City Council, said: “This is a fantastic competition that really helps to foster a love of reading in children. It also introduces children to our libraries and the huge range of free resources we can offer. As we mark the National Year of Reading in Leicester, projects like this one are a great reminder of our commitment to ensuring everyone in the city can enjoy reading for pleasure.”
David Rhodes, assistant headteacher at Montrose School said: “Reading is vital to children’s development, but all children come at it from different starting points and we know that the best way to engage them is to give them access to exciting new books and a range of quality authors. Book talk has also been a priority at our school and Our Best Picture Book is a great way of doing this, because it encourages the children to find a book they like and talk about why they like it. We’re always very pleased to play an active part in this competition and we were very pleased to welcome Filbert and support the National Year of Reading.”
Six-year-old Maariya, a pupil at Montrose, said; “I like how books change everything and make everything interesting. I love visiting the library because it has so many books, sometimes I just go and take a seat there and start reading the books.”
On Monday 13 April, schools will be notified of the winner of the Our Best Picture Book competition – look out for the results on social media too!
To find out more about the National Year of Reading, visit www.leicester.gov.uk/libraries
ENDS