World Book Day 2022

03/03/2022

We celebrated World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March with a visit from Dr Attiya Khan, author of Ten Steps to Us. Ten Steps to Us is a romance novel with themes of first love, frenemies, and toxic relationships featuring protagonist Aisha, a Muslim girl who falls for the new boy at school. Students in Year 7 engaged with a presentation from Dr Khan where she discussed her book as well as the importance of representation in literature as she shared that she wrote the book for her teen daughter who found it difficult to engage in reading as she did not see herself represented in the books that she read. Students asked insightful questions to learn more about Dr Khan's writing and publishing processes and were keen to read the book themselves as they attended a book signing in the library.

At St Paul's Way Trust, we recognise the importance of representation in literature. Our school library holds a diverse range of stock to make sure that our pupils are exposed to different topics by an array of voices whilst also ensuring that they see themselves represented in the books that they read. Reading books with accurate representation allows pupils to see the world through the eyes of someone else and encourages them to respect everyone's differences. The library displays posters of recommended reads throughout the school year to students which celebrate events including Black History Month, Women's History Month, LGBTQ+ History Month, and Pride, with other displays including recommended books for reluctant readers, books to support mental wellbeing, and books to celebrate Muslim authors. Our online library catalogue, Reading Cloud, can be accessed by students from home to search for a variety of subjects and keywords. Our library team is always on hand to make a book recommendation and guide students to suitable resources to explore a range of topics.

"One way that children learn about the world around them and other cultures is through the social messages found in stories. Stories help children understand how society perceives their culture as well as the cultures of their classmates, teachers, caregivers, and others, thereby influencing their social and identity development." - American Library Association