Category Archive

Jane Walker from the publisher Barrington Stoke talks about books that empower reluctant readers to get to the end of a story are a big win for all readers. Interview by Nicola Baird Barrington Stoke is known for its super-readable, dyslexia friendly fiction designed to help every child become a reader. But how did they know what worked? “We were founded by a head teacher of a school for children with dyslexia and dyspraxia,” explains Sales & Marketing Director, Jane Walker. “As she was retiring everyone kept saying, ‘What are you going to do?’ She knew she wanted to …

November is Empathy Action Month. Here Sarah Mears shares the many ways that EmpathyLab is helping tackle a societal empathy deficit by promoting reading.

Author, film maker, lecturer Matt Dickinson loves squirrels and libraries. Here he shares tips on using adventure – and in particular climbing Everest, the world’s highest mountain – to help students learn to love reading.

Even working as a librarian at a busy school can be a surprisingly lonely professional experience. Alongside career highlights here’s how Eileen Armstrong, librarian at a large secondary school in Northumberland, uses SLS to save money and keep her two libraries stocked and up-to-date.

Thinking like a librarian is second nature for Gillian Harris from Tower Hamlets SLS. As she’s due to retire in autumn 2023 we asked for the standout moments helping the right books and collections get to children, and the adults who support them. Interview by Nicola Baird.

It was just another workday, when an email popped into my inbox from ‘Honours Mailbox’ inviting me to the King’s Coronation.  My first reaction was “is this a scam’? On confirming its authenticity, my next thought was “why me?’