The importance of reading

The New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards are the only popular awards for children’s literature in this country. Each year 5 finalists are selected for each of the different categories - picture book, junior fiction, young adult fiction and non-fiction. A panel of judges read these books and award's a winner for each category. Alongside this the children of NZ are able to cast their vote in the "Children's Choice Award". There are also the NZ Post Book of the Year and The Best First Book which encourage new authors to take part. New Zealand Post has been sponsoring children’s literature for the last 14 years and has given numerous opportunities to a variety of talented authors and illustrators. Each year imaginative, stimulating books are released by the publishers, feeding the young impressionable minds of New Zealand.
We, the people of New Zealand should embrace this event and recognise its importance. Reading is the number one skill everybody must have. It is vitally important to be able to understand the written text, use a wide repertoire of vocabulary and have knowledge of sentence structure and grammar. Reading expands the imagination, stretches the attention span and allows one to escape into a world of fantasy and adventure. Books are great. Books widen the horizons, bring history to life, help us develop hobbies and interests, give knowledge and enrich our lives. Books help give children 'a leg up on the ladder of life'. No-one is ever too old to read and a child is never too old to be read to.
Having scanned the newspaper for the results of this year’s awards, I felt very disappointed that the media was unable to give the event the publicity it deserved. I know I am not always the most observant of people {I have been known to drive into a horse truck} but I truly had difficulty in finding information in the newspapers, particularly the New Zealand Herald.
I wonder if the same treatment would have been given to the All-Blacks or the Silver Ferns……. I think not. So, what does this say about literature and New Zealand?

Elaine Minett.