Wow! My daughter came out of her room for this...
An interview with a young person about texts they like to read, watch and engage with.
Interviewee: My daughter who is 14 years and 5 months old.
When I was 14 I was never without a book, and most books were read by me over and over again. My favourite was Go Ask Alice. I became enthralled in the story and identified with this young girl who went from being a typical teenager to one heavily addicted to illegal drugs. The booked served several purposes for me: one, it made me terrified of drugs - which is a great thing; two, it made me feel compassion for those who got caught up in the drug scene and helped me realise how fortunate I was. I later went on to work with young women who were in juvenile detention centres and with drug addicts on the streets of St Kilda and also on the streets of Madrid, Spain. That book educated me about the drug scene and motivated me to help those who had succumbed to drugs and felt there was no way out.
Time marches on and I am thankful for parents who loved reading and instilled this love in me. During my teenage years I would dedicate myself to reading a whole author's work. I started with Neville Shute; Stephen King; and Sidney Sheldon. Neville Shute's stories of the Australian outback and England were a great source of comfort to me when I was 19 and living and working in Northampton, UK. Now my two daughters find enjoyment in reading and it is exciting to see them with their heads down and totally engaged in their reading.
For this blog I have chosen my 14 year old daughter to interview:
What books are you reading at the moment?: "I am reading the Hunger Games again, and a zombie book which is like Alice in Wonderland. I have just started it and I really like it".
Why did you choose the Hunger Games?: "I first read it because my friends started reading it and said it was really good. I knew the movies were being made and I wanted to read the books first before seeing the movies. I loved the story so much that I decided to read it again".
Which character do you like best in the Hunger Games?: "I really love Katniss. She is amazingly brave to take the place of her little sister, especially when she knows that she will probably die. I kind of like the love story part too, and feel sorry for Gale because he really loves her but she has to pretend to be in love with Peeta to keep the people of the Capitol happy. But Peeta and Katniss do fall in love, get married and have children, but poor Gale will always love Katniss but could never be with her as he would remind her of the death of her sister Prim because of the bomb he made".
When reading a story, do you identify with a particular character?: "Sometimes, yes. With the Hunger Games I really identified with Katniss because she is such a strong character and I would like to be that strong, but I don't think I would be."
Do you prefer reading the book or watching the movie?: "I prefer reading the book, because you can play your own movie in your head and have everything looking the way you want it to look".
What is the zombie book like and are you enjoying it?: "I have just started it and am loving the fact that someone wrote a book for girls about zombie's - that is totally awesome and I am so happy to have something really different to read."
So the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree! We both love reading and making the movies up in our head as we read along. I am delighted that my daughter loves the smell of books new and old and that she is fascinated by the new worlds these books can take her to. In reading other people's blogs I am alerted to the importance of nurturing reading in young children and leading by example. I am proud to see that my young person will keep the world of print alive and pass this love on to others.
It's so good to read about young children who like to read. I also love to read and always have. The young girl that I interviewed is also an avid reader. What I find surprising, but also nice, is the number of younger readers who still prefer reading the physical books, as opposed to reading on electronic devices. I guess I just assumed that kids would prefer that. It is definitely a method that I've seen used to encourage those who do not enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment on "the importance of nurturing reading in young children and leading by example". There have just been too many cases where children are just not encouraged to pick up a book when they are at home, and it's just so important to do that. It's nice to hear about parents who are working to "keep the world of print alive". :)