Authors encourage pupils to get reading at amphitheatre event

Authors have been encouraging youngsters to get into reading.

About 600 pupils from Maidenhead schools were at the amphitheatre, next to Maidenhead Library, in St Ives Road, on Wednesday for the event.

Titled Authors in the Round and organised by the Royal Borough’s libraries and museum outreach team, it saw children’s character Kipper the Dog joined by writers Ali Sparkes and Helen Dennis for a series of readings and other activities.

Carnegie-nominated author Helen said: “I talked to them about books I’ve written and how I was inspired by my teachers and tried to encourage them to write about their own adventures.

“Doing it here [in the amphitheatre] was fantastic. I’ve done outside events before, but never in such a spectacular setting.

“My books are about children trying to explore the world and find hidden codes, so there’s nothing better than getting children outside to do that themselves.”

The event, which was sponsored by the Spoore Merry and Rixman Foundation and Maidenhead Rotary Club, also launched the RBWM Summer Reading Challenge ancouraging children to read six books over the summer holidays.