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IT COULD BE the Famous Five, Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings: but most of us have a favourite book or series we remember fondly from our childhood.
A new campaign from the Arts Council features some notable Irish talking about their favorite books from when they were growing up and what reading means to them.
Writer Roddy Doyle, broadcaster Sean MonCrieff, and presenter Diana Bunici are among the presenters talking about reading and their favourite books.
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The campaign’s goal is to encourage parents to buy their children a book this year for Christmas and for them to spend more time reading with their children.
Research carried out by iReach Insights on behalf of the Arts Council found that over half of Irish parents questioned wanted to spend more time reading with their children.
The results of a survey commissioned by the Arts Council. Pete Reddy
Pete Reddy
Each personality featured as part of the campaign will reveal their favourite childhood book on a separate day on the Arts Council’s Facebook page.
“We’re hoping this campaign will encourage parents and families to focus on the magic of storytelling this Christmas,” said Orlaith McBride, director of the Arts Council.
“We hope they will take some precious time to enjoy a good book together.
Buy it, borrow it or dig it out from the bottom of a box in the attic. Just take up a book this Christmas and watch your child’s imagination take flight.
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I remember getting the book when I was about 9/10 and it was a big hard back book and it had loads of stories of the far away tree in it. I still have the book at my folks. Can’t wait until my daughters reading it.
A Christmas Carol was great. Goodnight Mr Tom is a great read. The Artemis Fowl books are good to get boys reading, or Alex Rider if they’re a bit older.
Visit your local library – they’ll have good advice
For me it has to be ” The boy with the bronze axe ” by Kathleen fiddler I think was the authors name. An absolute cracker. I’ve never forgotten it. Can’t recommend it enough. Also very much enjoyed ” The lost prince ” by frances hodgson Burnett. First published in 1915 and almost forgotten now. She better known for other books but this may be her best..I lost my original copy and had to settle for an abridged copy when I tried to buy a copy for my son. Last but not least I rate the books , Watership down, Black beauty by Anna sewell and shardick by Richard Adams very highly.
Kids don’t need to be taught how to enjoy books. Read to them as often as possible when they are kids and let them take it from there. Fond memories of reading Roddy Doyle’s children’s series to my little one and laughing till we cried.
There are two other great books in that trilogy- Seek the Fair land and the Silent People, how nobody has written a screenplay for Seek the Fair Land is a real shame. Better story and warriors than Braveheart..
Walter Macken was one of our greatest unsung authors, Irish fiction at its finest.
@Tony Bergin: I have read them as well and I agree, Macken is indeed an unsung author. I had been given the book by his wife when I did a job in a neighbours house out by Menlo in Galway, years ago, and ended up doing a small tommer for her. The book she gave me is long since lost unfortunately.
My dad was a Kerry man and died last year god bless him.
He told me if you ever want to find a woman, find a good pub and order a pint of Guinness and read a book.. At that point you stop projecting need and totally content.
Women hate that :)
Can’t believe I forgot….. I was mildly obsessed with Nancy Drew too. And a bit miffed to later discover the author wasn’t a real person….. Just a pseudonym used by multiple random people.
Tell me about it tricia. Had the same experience with THE HARDY BOYS supposedly written by a Franklin w Dixon but in reality by a whole different bunch of writers for hire. The publishers had a virtual cottage industry of them going on. Thought the books were the bees knees at the time , but truth is they read like they were put together by committee. Very bland.
My son loves the books, he has read them all at least 3 times. I have bought him “Fantastic Beasts” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” for Christmas. He said they are so much better than the movies.
Pretty much anything by Enid Blyton Secret Seven, Famous Five, Malory Towers, St Clare’s
Moved on to Chalet School books later (the Armada versions) now from time to time I see the ones in the series that I missed as a child on Amazon & buy them and read them even now
PG Wodehouse or HG Wells. I had no idea who wrote the first or what it was called at the time…..I found it in a c wardrobe but it had no covers !….it was really funny.
The Hounds of the Morrigan, often re-read it still, the original Winnie the Pooh ( pre Disney) Where the Wild Things Are, The Velveteen Rabbit ( used part of it in our wedding booklet ) The Discworld books , Artemis Fowl series , The Alchemist series , Skullduggery Pleasant series, chronicles of Narnia
Malory Towers!! The original 6 book box set!! First published between 1946 and 1951….I got the set for Christmas in 1974 when I was very young!! Fabulous…loved those stories! Still have the set!
a) Didn’t think it would provoke a response but thanks for stopping by b) Intentionally misspelt as a child would hear it c) Have a lovely evening you barrel of laughs you !
When the Luvenders came to Merrick Town by June Considine. I still have it. Also loved Bert, Nan, Fred and Flossie the Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope. Anne (with an ‘e’!!) of Green Gables also a favourite. At some stage in my early teens brought A Town Like Alice on holiday to France. Loved it to absolute bits.
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