Giving the gift of reading is all about making reading both accessible and desirable to all children - and sometimes convincing them that there's any point in reading can be tricky in itself!

From a young age we teach children which combinations of letters come together to make which sounds, and which ones inexplicably don't follow the rules.  We encourage then to 'sound it out' and 'have a go' and for lots of children it's a hard slog.  What we sometimes forget to do is show them how enjoyable, how entertaining and how valuable reading can be for them so that they really 'get' why it's all worth it!

And maybe a book about reading itself will help a child see that reading can be much more than just stumbling over words on a page! 

About the book

Chocolate Milk, X-Ray Specs and Me by Bethany Walker and Jack Noel.

Ten year old Freddy Spicer writes letter to, and receives letters from, his parents who he believes are working at a Brussels sprouts farm in Outer Castonga, with no phone signal or internet access.  The only way to communicate is by letter and the whole book is a series of letters between Freddy and his parents.

Along with it being hilariously funny and fantastically well-illustrated, this book highlights beautifully the reason why Freddy needs to be able to read.

Author, Bethany Walker talks to Coram Beanstalk about her book and the value of reading

Equally brilliant books with the same theme - Books about reading

Download the full list as a PDF here