At Clanfield, helping children fall in love with reading is one of our biggest priorities. We want every child to experience the joy of getting lost in a good book!

Our libary:

Our wonderful library — lovingly looked after by Miss Earl and her brilliant team of pupil librarians — is a real hub of excitement and discovery. Mrs Powers keeps everyone inspired with her fortnightly author updates, while Miss Earl makes sure the newest and most popular books (like those by Stewart Foster) are ready on the shelves, just waiting to be explored and enjoyed. Here are some examples for you to consider!

 

Each class visits the library every week to choose new books, share recommendations, and  read alongside a buddy — making reading a social, joyful part of school life.

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Promoting a Love of Reading

At Clanfield, we know that a love of reading opens up a world of imagination and learning. Here are some of the ways we nurture a strong reading culture across our school:

• 📚 Weekly Library Visits – Every class enjoys time in our newly renovated library, discovering new books and authors.

• ⏰ DEAR Time (Drop Everything and Read) – Dedicated moments in the week for children to relax and read purely for pleasure.

• 🤝 Shared Reading – Classes buddy up twice a half term to enjoy stories together and celebrate reading as a community.

• ✍️ Author Experiences – Inspiring visits and virtual sessions with authors throughout the year.

• 🎭 Book Week Celebration – A whole week of reading fun, including dress-up days, competitions and themed workshops.

• 🌍 Topical Reading Events – Special reading activities linked to key events across the year.

• 🌿 Outdoor Reading – A selection of books available for children to enjoy during break times.

• 🖋️ Reading Scrapbooks – Children record their reading journey through reviews, artwork, reflections and favourite quotes.

• 🎟️ Reading Raffle – A fun reward system for pupils who read at home at least four times a week.

Author link: Neill Cameron

One of our exciting new initiatives has been to take part in live author webinars. Aspen Class had the fantastic opportunity to meet Neill Cameron, the author and illustrator of Donut Squad.  During the session, Neill shared how his ideas come to life through drawing, even creating a brand-new “Roman Donut” character on screen based on the children’s suggestions! The class had sent in their own questions beforehand and were thrilled to hear their ideas mentioned during the session.

Elodie said, “I was surprised to hear that he drew the pictures before writing the book!”
Alex added, “I liked how he showed us that a mistake can become part of the character — it doesn’t have to be perfect.”

Author link: Petr Horáček

Year 3 were amazed and delighted to receive a special video message from author and illustrator Petr Horáček, who took the time to celebrate the children’s wonderful writing and illustrations. His kind words truly inspired our young storytellers — what an incredible moment!

Author link: Mike Barfield:

We were so excited to receive an amazing letter from Mike Barfield, the author of The Wild Life of Animals! He was delighted to hear that our children have been studying his book and even sent us a wonderful, detailed letter in response — it really inspired our budding readers and writers!

Reading Scrapbooks

At Clanfield, our Reading Scrapbooks are a celebration of each child’s reading journey — a place to capture the joy, imagination and conversations that come from a great book.

Every Friday, children take their scrapbook home to add reflections, drawings or ideas, often inspired by books they’ve shared with friends or family. Reading becomes more than just turning pages — it sparks dialogue, curiosity and connection. Children are also given time in school to add to their scrapbooks and to share them with classmates and teachers, creating a wonderful community of readers who talk about what they’re discovering.

There’s no pressure to fill a whole page each week — scrapbooks grow naturally as children move through different stories.

In their scrapbook, children might include:

• Thoughts or reflections about a book they’ve enjoyed

• Reviews

• Favourite quotes or moments shared with family or friends

• Illustrations or creative responses

• Questions or ideas sparked by their reading

• Recommendations for others

• Drawings, post it notes, photographs

Our reading scrapbooks remind children that reading is something to enjoy, share and celebrate — a journey made richer through the conversations it inspires.

Peer reading:

Miss Peacock reports that our peer reading sessions, where different classes pair up to read together, continue to be incredibly popular. The children love sharing stories, discussing favourite characters and discovering new books through each other’s eyes.

Last Friday, we also celebrated our love of reading with a Roald Dahl-themed afternoon, ahead of Roald Dahl Day. The children were full of curiosity as they uncovered fascinating facts about the famous author — did you know he was an RAF fighter pilot in World War II?

Laughter filled the classrooms as pupils (and teachers!) invented their own wonderfully weird Dahl-inspired words. They then followed virtual drawing masterclasses with Quentin Blake, creating fantastic versions of some of Dahl’s most loved characters.

The afternoon was such a hit that we’ve already planned our next author celebration — a Michael Rosen-themed afternoon in November!