2025
It’s 31st December 2025 and I’m evaluating my attempts to reach the objective I set out for myself on 1st January 2025 – ‘let reading come alive in 2025’:
I’m following a wise man’s advice (aka Theodore Roosevelt) and continuing to do what I can, with what I have, where I am. As the epidemic of loneliness persists, mental health concerns rise, and reading for enjoyment hits crisis levels, the need to take off anxiety, take off pressure, take off stress, relax into reading and bond through books is greater than ever.
Here’s an outline of some of my recent efforts to build and strengthen relationships in families and communities through shared reading…
My @readwithjulia YouTube channel
While running my Early Literacy Intervention business from 2013 until 2019, I set up a YouTube channel and recorded some short videos offering supportive strategies to use with young readers. When I left full-time classroom teaching at the end of the 2022 summer term, I started to post more recordings. I have continued to add short videos to offer hands-on, multi-sensory ideas for teaching letters and sounds and introductions to picturebooks. At the time of writing, I have 524 subscribers and there are 184 videos on my channel. In the year ahead, I plan to keep calm and carry on posting videos to encourage families and communities to read together.
Drop-in reading sessions at Ledbury Community Hub
In June 2024, I ran a pilot project for children and families at Ledbury Community Hub. Although the events were advertised widely through local schools, pre-schools and social media, the four drop-in reading sessions were poorly attended. A total of 6 children came along. One child came to all 4 Saturday sessions. He and his mum shared encouraging feedback with me:
‘My child really enjoyed reading books with Julia and I learned so much from just watching how exactly she was supporting him and found myself making notes so I could try and replicate some of her techniques at home…’
(September 2024 – feedback from a parent)
The sessions led me to ask, ‘Has learning to read become a chore and a bore in 2024?’.
Ledbury Library summer reading sessions
In 2023, 2024 and 2025, I enjoyed running a weekly children’s storytime session at Ledbury Library during the summer holidays, supported by the Ledbury Library Development Group. On the whole, these sessions have been well-attended, with parents and grandparents bringing their children along to read with me. (Thursday 7th August 2025, however, found me standing childless in the middle of an empty children’s library, unable to hold back the tears, but very thankful for the comforting words of a kind librarian.)
Penpal project
In April 2025, I met a friend’s grandson and his family in Dog Wood. We had a relaxed reading and writing session outdoors, which we followed up by writing letters and postcards to each other throughout the summer term. There are more details here:
I have since met 2 other boys, separately, in Ledbury Library in November and December 2025. I encouraged them both to join me in a written conversation and I hope to exchange some letters and postcards with them in the days ahead…
‘It felt like such a relief and just totally changes the dynamic… I felt a weight lifted seeing him doing so well and enjoying that time with you.’
(November 2025 – feedback from the parent of one of the boys)
Teaching English through picturebooks and poems
In the spring of 2025, a Ukrainian friend in Hereford shared her frustration at the progress she was making learning English. The outcome of our conversation was a series of zoom sessions, where I shared picturebooks and poems with her to encourage my friend in her efforts to learn the language. I recorded some of the sessions and, with permission, I posted the following videos on my YouTube channel:
The idea of using picturebooks came to me while I was volunteering at Ledbury Methodist Church for their Monday conversation classes for ladies from Afghanistan, who continue to work hard to improve their English.
Read Aloud Ledbury
Friday 20th June 2025
I trained as a Reader Leader volunteer in March 2020, days before the first lockdown. In September 2023, I helped start Read Aloud Ledbury: a shared reading group for adults, which meets every Friday (11:30 am – 12:45 pm) at Ledbury Library.
“Our reading group is a Friday afternoon pleasure.
The diversity of poetry and stories is interesting and mentally stimulating.
You can listen to the reading and relax.”
(A review from a group member)
I have also enjoyed shared reading times with people in their own homes.
Ledbury Primary School and Ledbury Children’s Centre
I reached out to Ledbury Primary School in September 2025, in the hope of a potential collaborative reading project with Ledbury Library Development Group. The school kindly welcomed me in to deliver an assembly for International Dot Day on 15th September 2025 – to celebrate picturebooks and creativity:
In the October half-term holiday, I also enjoyed reading with children and families at Ledbury Children’s Centre during their Wednesday Storytime (I currently teach on Wednesday afternoons in term-time).
Alternative Provision
I am currently employed by an Alternative Provision agency ‘Fresh Start in Education’, as an Education Specialist. The children and young people I meet from day to day face significant challenges. Their pathway through education has been turbulent and building relationships of trust takes a great deal of patient perseverance.
During our online sessions, my treasure trove of picturebooks have poured oil on troubled waters in a remarkable way. I have been quietly amazed to see countenances relax, moods soften and conversations open through the pages of my picturebooks…
‘Every child deserves a book’
I also joined forces with The Children’s Bookshelf in Hereford and brought some of their book giveaways to Ledbury:
2026
My opening paragraph from last January’s ‘Let reading come alive in 2025’ blog post holds true. I’m going to keep it for 2026 – with a tiny tweak of an update (see if you can spot it):
‘As we enter 2026, my desire to bring families and communities together through shared reading is as strong as ever. I’m still on a quest for clarity of direction. I’m still seeking a future where young and old bond through books, where relationships are strengthened through shared reading, where obstacles to literacy are removed, and where reading becomes irresistible.’
My desire to bring families and communities together through shared reading still stands.
My quest for clarity of direction remains…
I am not giving up.
Read with Julia 