Of course, the ultimate aim of toolboxes and workshops is to get children actually reading. Included in the toolboxes will be sixty books and the aim is that each child in a reading group will read each book at least once. These consist of fact books and fun books, poetry, art and music books and ten books that are part of the CBN reading game that we have developed and tested at our workshops.
Twenty-five non-fiction and twenty-five fiction books reflect the different themes. They have been carefully selected from the Cambridge University Rainbow Readers. (CBN has thus 370 books to choose from, both fiction and non-fiction). They are beautifully illustrated and really engage the readers. Because they are carefully graded, they can also be finished in one session of quiet reading. Teacher-librarians with access to more books can add displays of other books related to the themes.
We are providing a sample reading passport – a passport to other worlds – that will have space for each child to rate the book out of 5 and receive a sticker when the book is finished. They have the opportunity to read 60 books in a term if they are motivated enough. There will also be opportunities to note other books that they have read during the term.
