17 Oct Former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen joins the Essex Year of Reading in Basildo
Beloved children’s author, poet and broadcaster, Michael Rosen wows Basildon school children with a series of special poetry performances.
As part of the Essex Year of Reading, children’s author Michael Rosen has led two special poetry performances for hundreds of Basildon pupils on Wednesday 12 October.
The interactive sessions, for children aged 5 to 11-years-old, took place at Basildon’s Towngate Theatre. The aim was to inspire a lifelong love of reading and help pupils expand their vocabulary by learning new words and discovering their meanings.
Michael Rosen has written many poetry and children’s books, including the classic ‘We’re Going on A Bear Hunt’, plus ‘Quick Let’s Get Out of Here’, and ‘Fluff the Farting Fish’.
Pupils had the chance to meet one-to-one with Michael and get their books signed. A recording of the sessions will be available to view on Essex County Council’s YouTube channel shortly.
The author explains why live events are so engaging for children. He says: “When a writer appears in front of children it makes books come alive. Connecting words with the person and performance, it really lifts the words off the page and makes the children go hunt for the book and even more books.”
Councillor Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, said: “We’re pleased to be able to work with well-known authors such as Michael to engage pupils in reading in new and exciting ways. We want every child and young person in Essex to discover how powerful reading can be, not just in terms of their education, but also in terms of their future careers. Every child deserves to benefit from the same life chances as their peers and being able to read well is key to this.”
The £1million Essex Year of Reading campaign was created by the Essex Education Taskforce to support children whose learning was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is being funded by Essex County Council.
To find out more about the Essex Year of Reading and to download the free app, visit www.essexyearofreading.co.uk.
