Knocknaheeny pupils enjoy third reading initiative

PUPILS from Cork’s northside are enjoying the magic of reading books and some are even thinking about becoming authors themselves.

The third year of the One Book, One Community has seen 500 copies of a children’s book being delivered to homes in the Knocknaheeny, Churchfield and Sunday’s Well areas. Local schools are encouraging parents and children to read The Firework Maker’s Daughter by Philip Pullman, with events around the book planned in the coming months.

The initiative is organised by the schools, teachers, parents, the local family centre and children’s charity Barnardos.

Kelly O’Brien, Sophie Williams and Gerard White, fifth class pupils at St Mary’s on the Hill National School in Knocknaheeny, had read the book within days of getting their copies last week.

“I liked chapter seven with all the fire works. I’ve always liked reading and we read in school and at home,” said Kelly.

She would like to be an author when she grows up, starting with children’s books and then writing for adults when she is older.

Sophie took a similar view but said she will be focusing her career on dancing.

“I’m going to be a dance teacher but I’d like to write children’s books in my spare time,” she declared.

Gerard’s father has written books on local history and he enjoyed reading The Firework Maker’s Daughter.

Padraig Casey, a first year student at Terence MacSwiney Community College, also liked the book even though he prefers reading about soccer.

“It’s very good, I think everyone should read it. We read a different book for this project each year when we were in fifth and sixth class,” he said.

Classmate Chloe Lingwood also reads a lot although she didn’t like The Firework Maker’s Daughter at first.

“After a while, it was nice, because it was very mysterious,” she said.

Siobhán Foy, home school community liaison teacher at St Mary’s on the Hill, said she and colleagues from other schools are encouraging parents to read the book at home.

“Projects like this create a strong link between school and home, and it means the children are talking about books among themselves, something they mightn’t be doing otherwise,” she said.