Harrow Green Community Library we have a small but growing collection of children’s books. And as our poster for the half term opening aims to show, it is rich in books that use language, tell stories and present information in varied and creative ways.
The impact of reading
There is good evidence for the importance of reading for pleasure in childhood.
“Reading for pleasure is more important than either wealth or social class as an indicator of success at school”
This is a statement made by the Reading Agency, a charity established in 2002 with a mission “to inspire more people to read more”. On its Reading Facts page, the Agency goes on to say:
- Children who are read to every day at age three have a vocabulary at age five nearly two months in advance to those that are not
- A child taken to the library on a monthly basis from ages three to five is two and a half months ahead of an equivalent child at age five who did not visit the library so regularly
View The Reading Agency: Reading facts.
“Children who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, vocabulary and spelling between the ages of 10 and 16 than those who rarely read”
The above statement appears in a recent news item (September 2013) about a major research study published by the Institute of Education, University of London. Further details available.
View Institute of Education: Reading for pleasure puts children ahead in the classroom.
“Young people who read outside of class daily were 13 times more likely to read above the expected level for their age”
More can be read about all the findings from this survey in the report published in 2012.
The importance of reading for pleasure to the lives of children and young people is one of the key reasons we have setup Harrow Green Community Library to replace the closed branch library, so that books can be easily accessible to all in this community.
We are also aiming to develop activities to promote and support children’s reading, and reading to and with children.
So, please come and enjoy the books. For details of where we are see CONTACT US and for details about joining the library see JOIN US.