Libraries Week 2021: Victoria College Belfast

The calm within the storm: a year of reading to help cope with stress in primary school

When our P7 teacher asked if I could read to her class a couple of afternoons a week to help them cope with stress, I couldn’t have been happier. The last year of Primary school is already an anxious time; added to this the uncertainty over transfer tests as well as Covid restrictions and several lockdowns, it seemed like the perfect antidote to a difficult year. Not just for the pupils either: like many school librarians, I found myself with a library that had been drafted in as a classroom and although I pride myself on being adaptable, last year did push that to the limits. Sharing a story with a group of children is one of my favourite things to do and it became the highlight of my school year.

This shared experience brought moments of great joy: reading towards the climax of The haunting of Aveline Jones. The atmosphere in the room was taut, the child in front of me with eyes so huge I thought they might land on her desk. I really fought hard to hold back the grin threatening to get the better of me, instead drawing out the tension for all I was worth. It was glorious! The perfection of realising we were reading The castle of tangled magic under the classroom’s beautiful glass domed roof, just like the mysterious domes in Castle Mila itself. Eating lemon sherbets and pomegranates while reading The boy at the back of the class. I have vivid memories of being read to by my P6 teacher after swimming lessons; all of us sitting on the floor, backs against the radiators and listening to the fairy tales of Oscar Wilde. How lovely it is to create memories like that.

As a judge for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, CKG was a huge part of last year for me. To be able to share that in school made it all the more rewarding. In the Spring, we took a break from longer novels and enjoyed illustrated books as the class took on the role of judging panel as part of the CKG shadowing scheme. There is such a joy in the visual world of illustrated books, and yet too often children are encouraged away from picture books as their reading independence increases. Shadowing the Greenaway encouraged our readers to absorb themselves in illustration and think about how word and image work together to create an extraordinary reading experience.

The class took their role very seriously; first simply enjoying the images, then spending more time with the books, assessing them against the criteria before our judging day. The votes were counted and announced with great excitement, only topped in June when their favourite of the shortlist went on to win the Shadowers’ Choice Award.

Towards May and June, the classroom was crowded with rails and boxes of costumes and props for the class play, The Sound of Music, bikes were propped against walls waiting for cycling proficiency practice. Storytime felt like a bubble of calm in an otherwise frantic rush towards the summer. The feeling of contentment drawing in was almost tangible as heads were laid on desks; cushioned on rolled up jumpers and fluffy pencil cases. I think this was my favourite time; windows open, the sound of birds and younger year groups out in the playground all a little distant as we created our own world – a timeless little bubble of magic, protected from the realities of school and stress.

Now that they have moved up to the grammar school, they love to remind me about lemon sherbets and the circus dress I wore for the CKG Awards day. Meanwhile, I am already deep into a new novel with this year’s P7 class. Being read to is a special thing. Which of us wouldn’t like to lay our heads down and listen to a story after lunch, a moment of calm in an otherwise busy day? It really is a little bit of magic.

The novels we read

• The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson

• Zombierella by Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Freya Hartas

• The Haunting of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes

• The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf

• Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds

Kate Greenaway Medal Shortlist 2021

• Starbird by Sharon King-Chai

• The Bird Within Me by Sara Lundberg and translated by B. J. Epstein

• It’s a No-Money Day by Kate Milner

• How the Stars Came by Poonam Mistry

• Hike by Pete Oswald

• I Go Quiet by David Ouimet

• Arlo The Lion Who Couldn’t Sleep by Catherine Rayner

• Small in the City by Sydney Smith

Maura Farrelly, Librarian, Victoria College Belfast