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Opinion Don't despair if your child doesn't love to read – it's all about finding the right book

For every child who reads voraciously and indiscriminately, there is one who can’t relate to the books their parents are urging them to read. Solution? Find a book THEY love.

OFTEN WE AT Children’s Books Ireland hear from parents despairing that their son or daughter simply doesn’t enjoy reading and views it as a chore.

Generally parents wish their child to enjoy the books they themselves read as a child, classics like Little Women or The Secret Garden. But for every child who reads voraciously and indiscriminately, throwing themselves into fantastic or bygone worlds, we meet one who simply cannot relate to the books their parents are urging them to read. These are children and young people who read across a range of media and devices – they play video games, communicate with their friends on Facebook, follow their favourite stars on Instagram and YouTube and watch complicated TV shows. They are already sophisticated readers; they just need to locate the book that will get them hooked.

Key to reading for pleasure is locating the right book for the right child. A great starting point is your local public library or bookshop. The staff here have great knowledge of their stock and are experts in locating the right book for the right child. The Children’s Book Ireland Book Clinic is another great place to find out more about books for your child.

‘Is this book suitable?’

Another concern parents have is around age appropriateness, we are often asked if a particular book is suitable for a specific age group. This is a very difficult question to answer, as all children have different reading abilities, alongside their level of emotional intelligence required to understand and digest certain topics. The tried and tested solution is to read the book in question yourself. Parents are best placed to gauge their own child’s emotional intelligence – and you might find yourself enjoying the book, too!

Stories are for Everyone, Children’s Books Ireland’s nationwide reading promotion for children and young adults kicks off this month. Schools, libraries, and arts centres across Ireland will be enjoying everything from readings by authors to writing and illustration workshops, all for young readers. Irish picturebook creator and illustrator Chris Haughton’s eye-catching artwork highlights this message – that stories and reading are to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.

CBI aims to make books a part of every child’s life. Research from the UK National Literacy Trust shows that, as well as improving children’s literacy and numeracy skills at school, reading for pleasure has a significant link with a person’s happiness. Reading for pleasure has been revealed as the most important indicator of the future success of a child and has benefits for the individual, the family and the larger society. And as well as all that, it’s fun – the magic of being absorbed into the world of a brilliant book is something that every child has the right to experience.

Get your consultation at the Book Clinic

The Children’s Books Ireland Book Clinic is a pop-up event touring the country, providing guidance about books to children and their families.

The Book Doctor, a children’s book expert, clad in a white coat, meets the young reader and chats about books the young reader previously enjoyed, TV shows they watch, their favourite subject in school, anything that reveals something about the reader and their tastes and interests.

Once the consultation is over, the doctor completes and stamps a ‘book prescription’: a list of recommended books tailored to the individual. Book Clinic patients are then encouraged to bring their book prescription to their local bookshop or library to be filled.

The Book Clinic will be in several locations around the country during October and beyond; thanks to the Arts Council’s Touring and Dissemination of Work Grant and support from Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, the Book Doctors and their colleagues the Doodle Doctors will be making recommendations and encouraging creative doodling all over Ireland right through 2015.

Aoife Murray is the Programme and Events Manager at Children’s Books Ireland. See www.childrensbooksireland.ie for more details about the Book Clinic . 

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    Mute John Colfer
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    May 4th 2012, 6:33 PM

    excellent idea, but unfortunately it won’t work until the tendering process changes. I think its nigh on impossible to tender for such projects unless you’ve done similar work before or know somebody, who knows somebody….

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    Mute Nucky Thompson
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    May 4th 2012, 7:10 PM

    You are wrong.

    The EU procurement public sector directives are based on the pillars of non discrimination, equal treatment, and proportionality.

    The Dept of Finance have made it very clear that SME’s should not be disadvantaged in any way as part of any procurement process. They have in fact issued a Circular (10/10) which has changed public procurement procedures to open up the market to smaller companies.

    This article contains a lot of ‘statements’ with zero proof or evidence of truth to back them up.

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    Mute censored
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    May 4th 2012, 10:39 PM

    He is right. Give examples of successful applicants please.

    Most Irish companies focus on international markets immediately, and for good reason: it’s easier and the potential rewards are greater.

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    Mute Paul Lanigan
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    May 5th 2012, 11:56 AM

    John is correct. The Public Servants making the purchasing decisions are risk adverse in nature and given the choice between an expensive big (secure) company with a track record (low perceived risk) and a smaller indigenous business that has little brand recognition (ass cover) – they will always go with the ‘safe’ option.

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    May 4th 2012, 6:07 PM

    Most small companies don’t see a cent of this money when trying to start up employing staff and paying prsi, paye and vat. So where the hell is it all going………

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    May 4th 2012, 7:49 PM

    Thompson set up your own company and then get bak to me.

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    Mute Nucky Thompson
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    May 4th 2012, 8:44 PM

    No need my friend, I already have my own company and employ 8 full time staff.

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    Mute David Howard
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    May 4th 2012, 10:25 PM

    The process has been opened up, but the reality is that if an Irish SME “won” an RFP without reference or ‘form’ in any major contract, a large or multinational company would/will simple go to the eu courts saying the process was non compliant and the Irish gov will capitulate… That of course is if anyone who was in a position to make a decision had a pair and stepped outside the cosy convenience of awarding the contract to the huge company with the huge price tag and cosy side clauses in the first place…

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    Mute Frank2521
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    May 4th 2012, 11:38 PM

    Enterprise Ireland – a better name would be ” Only friends need apply”.

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    Mute Joe Roddy
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    May 4th 2012, 11:50 PM

    That’s a nonsense comment. EI do try and help. They don’t like single person companies, they prefer in teams. They also heavily lean on experience, so anyone under 30 would find it more difficult.

    I don’t really agree with government betting tax payers money on start-ups. The only thing start-ups need is customers to generate cash flow.

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    Mute Niall Dooley
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    May 4th 2012, 6:56 PM

    Great article and it’s a view |’ve shared for many years. Government contracts should be open to a competitive tender process perhaps not annually but certainly every couple of years. I have no doubt public money is being wasted by companies who have government contracts and who over time become inefficient but at the same time don’t fear losing the contract they may have held for decades. The new startups should be the way to always push for innovation. Surely, there are startups who could revolutionise our health service for example with a clever use of software. The number of areas this would apply to is enormous. We need to be investing more in these science and technology companies as they will drive any economy and improve our standard of living to no end. All we need is someone in government with true vision. I lament at how little consideration science is given in forming public policy. I recommend everyone to read ‘The Geek Manifesto’ by Mark Henderson.

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    Mute Craig Walters
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    May 4th 2012, 9:12 PM

    Hang on hpsu, so called gazelles, are innovative, manufacturers or internationally traded services, but most importantly have an export focus ! So how can we buy from them if they’ve an export focus ?

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    Mute Popsicle Pete
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    May 4th 2012, 7:20 PM

    What if they have inferior products or services, why buy from them then?

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    Mute John Fintan Kennedy
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    May 5th 2012, 7:38 AM

    Good article. As far as I’m aware winning government business is next to impossible for most Irish software firms. Which often puts them in a strange place when competing overseas as their rivals can cite govt business at home. In spite of this many succeed, but little or no thanks to Ireland’s government sector. It will be interesting to see if our govts new interest in cloud computing will result in local software contracts too

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    Mute RP McMurphy
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    May 5th 2012, 8:53 AM

    @nucky thompson. Your comments are wildly off the mark judging by the experience of many, myself included, but perhaps one of your gifts is dealing with ps procurement. Does your company have a website perchance? You are very vague in the description of what field you are in.

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    Mute Nucky Thompson
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    May 5th 2012, 9:22 AM

    There are too many companies in Ireland who think they are good enough to win public sector contracts when the reality is that they simply are not good enough.

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    Mute Peter Faulkner
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    May 7th 2012, 11:56 AM

    The main point of the article is quite obviously valid. The state should support its own investments, if the project is good enough to invest in, it should follow it must be good enough to buy from!

    All SMEs should have a fair shot at Government procurement.. They generate employment and tax revenues in this country, it is more than galling to see overseas firms pick off supply contacts and leave nothing here. My own sector, Print and Packaging, is a classic example. We have seen a vast number of closures due to a lack of orders…while government spends overseas, all justified by Euro gobbledygook and an inability of our public servants to innovate in making it happen at home. As usual, if you don’t want to do it, it becomes impossible!

    Peter Faulkner

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    Mute Funding Enterprise
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    May 5th 2012, 4:10 PM

    We know that the key to IT/Digital velocity is early sales connectivity. Even though we are a funding organisation, we seek to drive growth in early stage IT.Digital primarily through minimum viable product and, if necessary, service work. Recently we have effectively seed funded a superb operation in prospect analytics with service work and am now driving it with a tactically assembled sales force. This week we have taken a significant stake in a digital messaging marketing platform in return for accelerating its growth out across our very extensive network.
    Yes, funding is important – but connection to the commercial world and commercial acceleration are often more important again,.

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    Mute Sean Higgins
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    May 4th 2012, 9:29 PM

    Did you get help setting up

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    Mute Nucky Thompson
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    May 4th 2012, 9:47 PM

    Other than a great wife and an understanding bank manager I got to where I am now pretty much on my own. We have won a number of public sector contracts over the past 5 years by offering innovative solutions to public sector requirements.

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    Mute RP McMurphy
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    May 5th 2012, 11:32 AM

    @nucky. That may indeed be true Nucky so I am even more curious re your company/ website now in order to learn from you.

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