Aidan Chambers 1935-1925

Image source: Writers Review

I know from experience and from visiting schools that the library can, and should, be the cultural and educational heart of a school, the place where pupils are stimulated and helped to become readers for pleasure, as well as the best resource for information. The success of this depends on the skill, book knowledge and energy of the librarian. (source)

Before you dip into my post take a few minutes to read this wonderful and heartfelt blog entry by my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. 

I found a few quotes by Aiden Chambers:

• Readers are made by readers - it is so obvious it is almost banal to say it.
• Life is not like a novel, but a novel can be like life. The best ones always are.
• You become a reader by reading the literature, not by reading the handbooks about it.
• Books are like friends, they stay with you for life.
• The power of literature lies in its ability to make us think and question.
• Literature helps us to understand and navigate the complexities of human emotions.
• A good story can change the way we see the world.
• Reading is not a solitary act; it connects us to a larger community.

A few facts about Aidan Chambers:

• In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award (acceptance speech)
• He worked extensively in the field of education, specializing in English language teaching and literature.
• Chambers is a passionate advocate for young readers and the importance of literature in their lives. He has actively supported initiatives promoting reading and literacy and has served as a judge for several prestigious literary awards, including the Carnegie Medal.
• Aidan edited a number of short story collections and wrote two novels for children – Seal Secret and The Present Takers. However, he was particularly admired as a writer of YA fiction, or as he termed it, youth fiction.

Read more here from IBBY.uk

You can all a full list of novels (especially YA novels) by Aidan Chambers here. 

My focus (as you have also seen in the Kinderbookswitheverything post) is on his philosophy and wisdom about reading and our young library users.

See the detailed version of this here. 

Basic Questions 

• Was there anything you liked about this book? 

• Was there anything you disliked? 

• Was there anything that puzzled you? 

• Were there any patterns – any connections – that you noticed? 

General Questions  

• Have you read any other books like this one? 

• Has anything that happened in this book ever happened to you? 

Special Questions 

• How long did it take for the story to happen? 

• Who was telling – who was narrating – the story? Do we know?  How do we know?

"What is it that enabling adults do? They provide, stimulate, demonstrate and respond. They provide books and time to read them and an attractive environment where people want to read. 

They stimulate a desire to become a thoughtful readers. 

They demonstrate by reading aloud and by their own behaviour what a 'good' reader does."

Here are a few text quotes that resonated with me:

"This process of building up pleasurable experience and extending the length of time we can concentrate, depends on regularly giving of oneself to books that replay the effort. So, providing time to read and helping learner readers attend to rewarding books for longer and longer periods of time is an important part of an enabling adult's job."

"All other obstacles in the way of learner readers can be overcome it they have the help and example of a trusted, experienced adult reader."

"Reading aloud to children is essential to helping them become readers. And it is a mistake to suppose that reading aloud is only needed in the early stages ... Ideally every child should hear a piece of literature read aloud every day."

"The message to any pre-service (teacher) must be to read as much as you can now, because you (might) never have such a good chance again."

The enabling adult: readers are made by readers; know yourself as a reader; protect your time to read; visit bookshops; share books at a staff meeting and more!