Let the book reading battle commence

AN initiative to encourage local schoolchildren to get reading has begun. 

Deputy Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Eithne Loftus, launched this year’s Battle of the Book Reading Programme in the beautiful surroundings of Swords Castle.

The programme, a collaboration between Fingal Libraries and six primary schools in the county, is kindly supported by the Dublin Airport Authority (daa), and runs from September until December.

The aim of the programme is to get children reading, and to foster a reading for life culture by using a multi-disciplinary interactive approach, with art, an author visit, creative writing and an active competition element between the different schools and their local library. Children are encouraged to read and gain confidence by discussing a common book, which provides a shared experience of reading.

As well as reading the book, ‘The Ghosts of Magnificent Children’, by Caroline Busher, the children will be participating in different activities organised by Fingal Libraries surrounding the themes presented in the book.

This year the schools involved are the Old Borough National School Swords, Mary Queen of Ireland NS Rivermead, St Margarets NS, St Marnock’s Portmarnock, St Patrick’s NS Skerries and Kinsealy.