Issue 24 Spring 1998 Messages from Matilda Anne Harding	Collections under which this       article appears:       Projects Related Articles or Resources

'By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house. At the age of four, she could read fast and well and she naturally began hankering after books.' You may remember her father's disgusted '"A book?" he said. "What do you want a flaming book for?"' You will, I feel fairly sure, recall the salvation offered by the local library, and Matilda's learned discussions with the librarian, Mrs Phelps, about the finer points of the novels of Dickens and Hemingway 1. In just a few pages Roald Dahl raises some of the most vital issues and challenges for children's library staff about children's reading and their role in supporting it. Not that I am suggesting that we should emulate Mrs Phelps, nor that Matilda's reading development is in any way typical. [Link°Spot]

At this early stage, pictures give more clues than text. Reading is not just a matter of decoding - extracting the meaning of what is written is at least as important. And as library staff, we all know that the most vital message children need if they are to become happy and successful readers is that reading is a source of pleasure. (Many of us are also all too aware of the difficulty of helping parents and carers to this realisation. With the present media and political obsession with supposedly falling reading standards, feelings of anxiety and guilt are pretty hard to avoid, and their effects are often unfortunate.) Whether we are reading to toddlers or to ten year-olds, our role in terms of modelling the skills and the enjoyment of reading, in sharing an enthusiasm, even a passion, for books is a crucial one, for the Matildas of the world, and for the slow readers so sadly brought to life by Allan Ahlberg 2:

I - am - in - the - slow
read - ers -group - my - broth
er - is - in - the - foot
ball - team - my - sis - ter
is - a - ser - ver - my
lit - tle - broth - er - was
a - wise - man - in - the
in - fants - christ - mas - play
I - am - in - the - slow
read - ers - group - that - is
all - I am - in - I
hate - it.

It's a fair bet that this slow reader is a boy (and no coincidence that Matilda is a girl). Much has been written recently about the impact of gender on reading, and the evidence proves that far more boys than girls have literacy problems. This is an issue that those of us involved in children's librarianship need to face up to squarely. As the Roehampton Report 3 made clear, and as many of us have observed, for very large numbers of boys narrative fiction is of little or no interest. If this is the case, how should we be reacting? What is our response to recent research highlighting the need for boys to have male role models of reading? 4

There are so many challenges that face us when we are trying to relate library provision to reading development needs. Bilingualism has a profound influence on how children learn to read. In a less positive way, so do dyslexia and dyspraxia. We have to be aware of what is happening in schools and in pre-school settings so that we can be an effective complement. National and local literacy initiatives must have a bearing on children's library operations, and many library authorities are involved in innovative and successful schemes, often in ground-breaking partnerships with other service providers.

For Matilda learning to read was natural and easy. For many, many children it is not. Sue Townsend felt that there should have been a hundred-gun salute when at the age of eight, and only as the result of a bad case of mumps and a bundle of William books bought by her mother at a jumble sale, she finally found out how to decipher the squiggles on the page 5.

All too many of us know children who are quite capable of deciphering the squiggles, but who choose not to do so. Meeting the needs of children at every point on the reading spectrum is probably the most fundamental task that faces us. Our role is certainly not a simple one, but it is vital and it is unique. It is also incredibly rewarding. Watching a child experience the full magic of books for the first time is a wonderful sight. How inspiring to know that our actions have played a crucial part in turning that child into a reader.

References

Anne Harding is a former children's librarian and Manager of Young People's Library Services. She is now a freelance training consultant, giving training to library staff and other service providers about their role and responsibilities in supporting children's literacy, and strategies for doing so effectively. An active school governor, she draws additional experience from working with teachers and children in a number of primary schools, training staff in the pre-school sector, and giving talks on supporting children's reading for parents and carers. For more information contact Anne at 20 Newcombe Park, London NW7 3QL, 0181 959 7030.