World Book Day is here! Amongst many other internationally celebrated days in March, Hey Me is excited to welcome another World Book Day. It’s a valuable time to consider not only why we appreciate books and reading, but why creativity and literacy are such treasured skills that are often taken for granted.
As well as many of the Hey Me team being mothers, with little ones celebrating World Book Day in their schools and nurseries, Hey Me considers World Book Day to be a fantastic celebration of the written word – which is what we do best.
Story-making is an excellent way to build your skills in writing and literacy, as well as your imagination. Since the nineteenth century, when literacy and education were popularised in Britain, and the advent of the printing press changed the production of books forever, reading has become a necessary, and much celebrated skill. Whether we’re reading road signs, food packaging, your emails, or even this blog, we’re always reading. Even when we use our phones, we read; in many ways our lives are shaped and interpreted by the text that surrounds us. This is why Hey Me always priorities accessible and clear communications, to get the message across in a world of reading.
Books stay with you forever. Many members of the Hey Me team can still remember the books that left an impact on us as a child, along with the books we still love today.
As a child, Amy really enjoyed the stories of Winnie the Pooh and the Secret Seven stories. There are some books that have stayed with her through adulthood, like the Harry Potter and His Dark Materials series. As an avid reader it’s hard to narrow down Amy’s favourites, but one of her most recent favourites is The Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.
Emma’s childhood favourite is Roald Dahl’s Matilda. She was always envious of her magic powers. Emma was also a big fan of the Scottish book Katie Morag and enjoys sharing Katie’s adventures with her children.
Molly’s all-time favourite is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, for the suspense and romance.
Jen’s favourite book as a child was Elmer, which she now enjoys sharing with her young children.
Although she is a big fan of Wilkie Collins, Olivia’s all-time favourite is To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, for the nostalgic descriptions of passing time; and her childhood favourite is Swallows and Amazons, for the adventure.
