In our schools, book chat and the sharing of book love is a critical component of a reading culture. There is nothing better than personal recommendations. Nothing more powerful than a book being pressed into your hand by a fellow booklover urging you to read it next. Nothing better than hearing the chat of two young people sharing their book love and excitement over their recent reads. 

Librarians and teachers sharing the books that they're reading has a huge impact on the love of books within a school community. A teacher recommending a book they've recently read is so powerful. A librarian knowing the book that is perfect for your next read is priceless. A friend who has loved a book and thinks you'll love it too is utterly wonderful.

Teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature and other texts has in the past not been commonly regarded as part of the subject knowledge required of teachers, yet the Teachers as Readers research compiled by Dr Teresa Cremin and her team at OU RfP has shown it is highly significant in developing children as readers who can, and in fact, choose to read.

Whilst their research shows that teachers do read for pleasure themselves,  they have in the past displayed limited and limiting repertoires of children’s authors, poets and picture book creators and tend to rely upon their own childhood favourites and celebrity authors.

It's important that your school has a variety of reading role models to make book chat a reality in every classroom in the school. In every playground, in every book corner, in every corridor. So often children model what they see and seeing adults reading, hearing adults talking about children's books they have adored is a powerful motivator.  

In order to successfully foster reading for pleasure, the research project found that teachers benefit from a wide and up-to-date knowledge of children’s literature. This is where here at LoveReading4Kids we can help support this endeavour. Every month our team is reading, reviewing and recommending books right across the age ranges ensuring that you have a steady stream of recommended reads for even the most reluctant reader. This curated selection of reads can help you choose your next read as a teacher or librarian and help you find the perfect books for each child in your cohort, your year group, your school community.

If you have a school library, ensure that every member of staff has their own library card, that all staff members are encouraged to share a review of their recent read, showcasing the favourite reads with a beautiful display sharing the books and the reviews.

We can't create a feature with this title without a nod to the national treasure that is Katherine Rundell. Her book Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise, is as important today as it was when she wrote it. If you haven't got a copy, please purchase now - anyone with children, or working within children's literacy should read it. Katherine is as passionate about reading children’s books as she is about writing them and in this brief but perfectly structured handbook she encourages all readers to think about the particular qualities of children’s books and about the special experience of reading as a child.

And all of this is why every school needs a school librarian, why schools need to timetable reading aloud into the curriculum plan, why schools need to have a budget to have the latest and greatest books available to their students. Because everything changes when we read. Reading matters, and books change lives.

If you'd like to read more about the OURfP research about Reading Teachers, click on this link. You'll find a short film where Professor Teresa Cremin and teacher Becky Thomson explain the implications of the findings and they can be addressed in teaching practice. You'll also find a downloadable audit to review your practice and a selection of practical classroom strategies.

If you are looking for recommendations to spark or re-ignite your love of reading children's books, check our our annually updated recommended reads for every year group - on the LoveReading4Schools portal. Alternatively, our Star Books are a great place to start; the best of the best books we read each year.

If you are looking for more articles about embedding a reading for pleasure culture in your school, check out our Special Features. And if there's something you'd like us to cover, get in touch on schools@lovereading.co.uk

Now go, grab a children's book and remind yourself what made you fall in love with reading, and marvel at just what a golden age of children's literature we are living in.

In the words of Katherine Rundell: "children's books are not a hiding place, they are a seeking place. Plunge yourself soul-forward into a children's book: see if you do not find in them an unexpected alchemy: if they will not un-dig in you something half-hidden and half-forgotten."

You won't regret it.