Category Archives: Shared Reading
Let reading come alive in 2025!
As we enter 2025, 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.
BookTrust and Waterstones New Children’s Laureate for 2024-2026: Frank Cottrell-Boyce
It’s been an exciting week: Frank Cottrell-Boyce was appointed as the new Waterstones Children’s Laureate on Tuesday, followed by a new UK government and a new MP for North Herefordshire on Thursday! These changes feel like a breath of fresh air from where I’m standing.
Has learning to read in 2024 become a chore and a bore?
Saturday 29th June marked the end of my ‘Read with Julia’ pilot project at Ledbury Community Hub. If you look at the numbers, it wasn’t a rip-roaring success – but it’s given me plenty of food for thought…
Shared Reading at Ledbury Community Hub
In April, I visited Ledbury Community Hub for a pot of peppermint tea and I met Nic, the hub leader. We talked about his vision for the hub, opportunities for me as a volunteer… and he kindly offered me use of the space for four, free, drop-in reading sessions for local children and families.
My elevator pitch
Last week, I spent 9 hours on a business bootcamp. The online meetings were held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, from 6 – 9 pm. One of the PowerPoint slides told us what to include in an elevator pitch…
Why?
Why am I posting recordings of children’s books on my @readwithjulia YouTube channel?
‘Papa Panov’s Special Day’
Papa Panov spends the day, eagerly watching and waiting, in the hope of a promise…
‘Timothy Winters’ by Charles Causley
It was a joy to be able to join the Reader Leader Shared Reading group in The Courtyard Theatre cafe this morning. We heard reports from the groups in Hereford and Abergavenny, talked business for a bit, then (those who wanted to) brought a selection of poems to the table.
‘The Bear in the Cave’ by Michael Rosen and Adrian Reynolds
In my humble opinion, this book was made for reading aloud and sharing together.
Read with Julia 