As a lifelong asthmatic, I have not been able to physically access my lovely library over the last few weeks as I am in almost complete isolation, but that does not mean that I haven’t been thinking about it a lot and wondering what angle I can use to keep the magic of books alive for the children of Barrow Hills.
That magic is such a potent weapon against boredom and mental health deterioration. In the past weeks, I have been producing some extra ideas and activities with a library or book focus for the children, which can be found in the BHLibrary@Home section of the Community Counts page on the website and if your children are in Years 4-8, there is a Library Classroom too.
Below are some ideas particularly for the stronger, older readers who would like to challenge themselves a bit during this strange period of time… some classic and modern classic novels!
These are the types of books that are beautifully and slightly more challengingly written, and more interestingly are often quoted in real life or by subsequent authors. Once you have read these books, you will suddenly notice quotes and snippets and characters popping up in real life conversations and texts around you that you may never have noticed before.
Of course, the list is endless so please do send me your suggestions for others and why you like them to lje@barrowhills.org so I am able to add them to the list (you will be credited with any suggestions that make the list). The ones that I have chosen are not too long or daunting and cover a number of different genres. You will also be amazed by how timeless many of them are, often seeming to be so relevant to modern life, yet written many years ago. If you can’t face actually reading them, why not see if you can find the audiobook or a film version instead?
‘Three Men in a Boat’ by Jerome K Jerome
‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ by Jules Verne
‘Little Women’ by Louisa M Alcott
‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams
‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell
Mrs Emmett, Librarian
