Children's Writer, Book Reviewer, Teacher, Artist
Scott Evans, known as the Reader Teacher, is a force to be reckoned with: https://www.thereaderteacher.com/ His reviews, recommended lists and book match ideas are brilliantly useful and something I have shared with teachers, children and parents in my school. His own book '100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Reading for Pleasure' is a handy, easily accessible and inspiring guide to help implement a range of strategies and practices to promote a love of reading in a primary school. With its fresh neon green cover and slim, compact feel, this is a classy and cool book that demands to be in the hands of every teacher, librarian and school leader.
For me, this book has come at just the right time for my school in the heart of Watford. In the last year as English Lead I have been developing our 'Reading for Pleasure and Progress' culture by training staff (from teachers and teaching assistants to office staff and school leaders) and by speaking to parents and pupils. Many of the ideas Scott Evans presents here we have already begun to implement, but there are also lots of ideas that are new to me and I'm really excited about. Either way, '100 Ideas' brilliantly distils everything you should, could and may implement for reading for pleasure into manageable bite size chunks, which can easily be digested, dipped into and shared for CPD to inspire and inform without overloading. Scott has taken all the myriad approaches for fostering a love of reading and fashioned it into a zesty, green slice of a book - like a slimline tonic. It's awesome!
Some of the sections that really caught my attention were: 'Senior Readership Team', 'Reader Recognition', 'Transition Time' and 'Bibliotherapy Books' (what a great term!). This is really a vital book and I will be hoping that each year group in my school has a copy. Thanks Scott for being such a champion of children's reading. I wish you all the success with this!
