Alan Dingley — Te pānui o Te Awhi Rito: Reading is the doorway

Speaker

Alan Dingley

Mihi

Alan Dingley: Tēnā tātou katoa
Ko Alan Dingley tōku ingoa
Ko Kirsty tāku wahine pūmau kua whetūrangitia
Tokorua ā māua tamariki, ko Sammy rāua ko Trevor
Kei Te Papaioea e noho ana
Ko au te kaitiaki whare pukapuka ki Te Papaioea
He ana te mea nui o te ao?
Ki au nei, he pukapuka, he pukapuka, he pukapuka!
Nō reira, tēnā tātou katoa.

Introduction

Thank you Ruki for that beautiful karakia here opening uh I apologise for my stumbling delivery. Thank you, Rachel, for that lovely welcome as well and thank you gorgeous people for being here on such a horrible night. I hope we will leave with warm hearts, and they will keep us warm as we get to where we need to be.

Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between it's an absolute honour to stand here before you today as I come to the end of my term as Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador. My journey across this beautiful country promoting the importance of reading and advocating the need to support and inspire young people to read for pleasure this journey has been an unparalleled joy. I have too much to say as I've seen and heard and experienced so much in the almost two years I've been visiting schools, libraries, communities. I've talked not only about the pleasure of reading and the joy and importance of books, but the power of words on a page that can transport us out of or above any situation. Whether your situation is due to socioeconomics or chance, direction or

desperation, joy or sorrow, need or want, reading can be that sanctuary or that escape. Every child deserves to discover the joy and power of reading regardless of the circumstance or where they live.

I'm just going to do a quick disclaimer. The people that have seen me present and talk before, a podium is not my friend. I'm normally out the front chatting away but the gravity of this pānui, this speech, I am reading my speech from the podium. I will ask you a question at the end potentially, so I apologise if I'm not out the front this is where I need to be this evening.

I want to start by thanking Te Puna, and the National Library for the opportunity to do what I love and that's everyone there Elizabeth, Kate, Jo Mel, all of the facilitators, you wonderful bunch, and the Te Awhi Rito partners. Te Puna Foundation are instrumental in getting us to where we are our, partners ReadNZ, Storylines, Creative New Zealand. and I want to acknowledge everyone that's crossed my path and enabled me and giving me the fuel for this journey.

Visual

Slide of an image on the screen of representatives from the National Library and other members of the Te Awhi Rito partner group with Ben Brown and Alan Dingley.

Audio

Alan Dingley: Lovely partners there, that was the handover from Ben.

So, thank you all, I will be forever grateful. I want to thank my friends. I'm stoked that many are here today. I owe you all so much. You've given me time, you've given me strength, you've given me belief and I've grown, not just the last two years, but the last eight years and beyond. To Trevor and Sammy my two wonderful children, who chose not to be here because they've heard me speak so many times before. I love you so much.

Thank you for letting me be an absent dad a bit over the last couple of years, but well, we've done a lot, and I think mom will be proud. I make no apologies for how often I will get emotional during my wee speech. I love what I do.

Becoming Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador

Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador still brings me great joy when I say it. Of course I'm number two. Ben Brown was number one. Poet, author from Lyttleton, a very humble, intelligent wordsmith. Ben was the OG who despite the turmoil of Covid shared his passion for storytelling far and wide. Ben said this in his Pānui.

“The first version of ourselves was built on stories we were told by those we depended on for everything. If we were lucky, they understood that a narrative tapestry rich in content, woven around us every day would instil a sense of place and belonging. At the same time, they could challenge us gently with newness and mystery, extending our world by extending our narrative, building our story by the simple application and wonderful utility of words, of language, of discourse and dialogue and exposition. If you started here, you were indeed ‘home’ because these things were the bricks that built your house of well-being and imagination.”

Ben is such a powerful orator and I made the foolish era of watching his Pānui while I was preparing for mine. So, thank you Ben. If you go to the Te Awhi Rito website it says this, which

Rachel has touched on.

“Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador advocates for and champions the importance of reading in the lives of young New Zealanders, their families and whānau, and communities. As a national reading role model, they build visibility and awareness of reading across all sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand, helping to create a nation of readers. Across time, each Te Awhi Rito will bring their own strengths to the role.”

I was incredibly glad that the job description contained that last part. Bring your own strengths to the role. I must also be honest. When I received the phone call from the lovely Elizabeth Jones I had a momentary flash of panic. You see I'd spent the previous few hours absolutely doing my head in because Elizabeth had rung, as she does, and left a hurried phone message.

“Oh Alan I really want to need to speak to you but I need to jump on a plane. Talk to you in a few hours, bye.”

Now I assumed she might want me to do a talk. I judged the book awards. I'd spoken to conferences and then I remembered the Te Awhi Rito nominations had just finished.

Cue tabs opening in my brain at an amazingly alarming rate, mind blowing and blowing up. I needed to calm myself, so I messaged my librarian partner in crime Sasha Eastwood and explained the situation. We chatted and dreamed about what good could be done if indeed I had the opportunity. And I want to thank Sash for being a great librarian but even better cheerleader and friend.

Elizabeth rang and asked if I would consider to be the next Te Awhi Rito. I of course accepted immediately thanking her for the honour, even if it was suddenly daunting. But I reminded myself I'd taken my PNINs (Palmerston North) intermediate Lit Quiz team to the World Finals in Singapore, after winning the National Finals at our school's 11th attempt. That wondrous team of girls came second in the world, or, as I prefer to say they were the number one all girls team in the world. I judged New Zealand Children and Young Person's Book Awards, was Convenor of Judges the following year. I've been working with young people in libraries for 25 years. I told myself I know my stuff and I'm damn good at what I do. I realise some people here or listening at home, hello, may know me and know my library work, but a lot of you may not know how I got here or be aware of how I've tried to bring this wonderful role to life.

Visual

An image on the screen of a photo of Alan as a boy.

Books as companions

Audio

Alan Dingley: That's 13-year old me. I often tell people I'm here because I failed. I befriended failure at an early age. Even though I liked school, especially when dealing with words, my brain would wander all too easily. Having me in a classroom would have been akin to having a labrador in situ friendly, fun to have around, lots of energy, but absolutely no focus. As soon as a teacher started talking I’d take the first thread and follow it to see where it went. I remember one thread clearly. The teacher said “today we're talking about Africa. What do we know about Africa?”

Instantly my brain screamed, camels! And my brain went like this:

I know camels have one or two humps and when you ride a camel with one hump you ride on top of the hump or you ride behind the hump and camels can blow a huge bubble out the side of their mouths. I wonder what would happen if you gave a camel bubblegum. What if they blew a giant bubble that was so big they took off into the air?! and then what if a jumbo jet flew into it and the bubblegum and the camel got it all over the windscreen. What would they say on the news. What was the question sir?

if I was in school today words like ADHD and neurodivergence might have been thrown around. But there was one thing that slowed my brain down and allowed it to focus. Reading. Give me a book and everything else in my head would be silenced. I would direct the movie. I would play the parts. I would be the hero. it's about the power of reading. As a kid I struggled to make friends, but books became my companions. I'd escape into their worlds, playing out the stories in my heads like movies. I loved Willard Price, Wilbur Smith and adventure stories with heroes set off on grand journeys. Even today I enjoy Jack Reacher and the like. I still love the hero complex I never quite connected to as a kid. They were there the books when I needed them. They made me feel smart instead of stupid, they strengthened me rather than hurt me and there were thousands of them just ready and waiting whenever I was.

But I like other children didn't just suddenly love books. I had access to wonderful books, time to choose what to read, and time to read and had stories read and told to me, and I had reading role models. Because childhood reading role models are incredibly important.

Childhood reading role models

I was lucky enough to spend many summer holidays at Woodend Beach just outside of Christchurch and I was incredibly lucky that Ernest Charles Mawson was my grandfather. He was a reader. He was a smart funny man. He introduced me to words, crosswords, the Goon Show, Dave Allen, Spike Milligan. And we would read for hours. He is one of the reasons I'm in love with words to this day. Sitting on that sun-soaked porch in wooden Beach alongside Pop reading in blissful, companionable, silence were the first building blocks of the library mind I have created.

Now Pop didn't have many children's books in his house, but he had a bookshelf that went along his hallway, and it was filled with Readers Digest condensed books and I love that because every place I've gone there's been one teacher or someone in the back of the room that giggles and smiles. So, I love that shared memory that we have. Those three grown up books condensed into one. I didn't understand a lot that was going on, but it was amazing. After we had our fill of reading Pop would tell me stories. He was a navigator on fighter of bombers in World War II, and those stories were enough to fire my brain out of those stories, the frivolousness of Biggles.

After I listened to pop tell me about being shot at and bombed and things like that and so I started reading non-fiction, reading real life accounts of the very crew’s pop had flown with and finding pictures of him and his crew. It was amazing. So, I researched a lot of things. I got into non-fiction and by the time I wanted to get back into fiction I wanted to step into that adult world. I went from Willard Price to Wilbur Smith. As a teenager Stephen King. If you're a teenager you’ve got to start a bit darker.

Books to fire the imagination

But beyond escapism, books honed my imagination. Reading fantasy allowed me to visualise entire worlds in my mind making the experience uniquely my own. Half Men of O by Morris G, Roald Dahl stories, even Choose Your Own adventure books. They show me that kids can be heroes, and they taught me that when you read you are in control. The author provides the cues, but you direct that story in your own mind. When I was younger books were a doorway. Books about derring-do, strong boys or men that went out and did the thing. Willard Price Adventures became Wilbur Smith then Jack Reacher. They were who I wasn't. Books have always filled my mind and heart. Luckily as an adult I realised how powerful children's and young person's literature can be.

Visual

Image on screen of a slide titled Inside my head or heart with the covers of four books displayed. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J.K. Rowling, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

Audio

Alan Dingley: Harry Potter, Terry Pratchett, A Phantom Tollbooth,

A Monster Calls. I can realise that these and other books were mirrors too. Harry showed us even with loss, you look for the light. Milo didn't get school, but he came to see the power of words. A Monster Calls is a book that pulled me apart and put me back together all at the same time. Sir Terry taught me the Sam's Vimes Boot Theory and that orangutans make the best librarians. That's why I advocate so strongly for young people to read for pleasure. Reading develops the brain imagination and self-image and libraries and educators need to meet kids where they are, giving them the books that reflect their identities, languages and interests.

I re reread Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series every year and always find something new. I've never read the same book twice and no one ever reads the same book. Every time a child reads a book, it's a new experience, a new way to process information or make sense of the world.

Becoming a librarian

So, I went to teachers College with grand dreams of educating the next generation—) probably influenced by Dead Poets Society or some other inspiring movie that I’d watched. But I struggled. Revisited by my old friend failure, my scattered brain didn't quite align with the structure of study. I'd already been working with kids and didn't like what I saw in the education system and by my own admission, I failed. But failure can be a great teacher. The lessons learned can be powerful if you learn from them and perhaps turn them into luck. So luckily, and yes, I am a very lucky person.

I found work as a special needs teacher aide at a school called Monrad Intermediate in Palmerston North. That's where I truly fell in love with children and books. I was fortunate because that was the year Harry Potter came out and suddenly, I had a book to use as leverage with the kids. I built up that library, tried teachers college again. Failed again, bounced around jobs, got married, had children then luck struck again, and I found myself at Palmerston North City Council City Library’s youth space, a youth development space. Later I moved to another intermediate PNINs (Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School).

The youth space allowed me to connect with that generation that is perhaps most maligned when it comes to connecting with books and reading. We know the teens, the young people, their brains are changing along with their priorities. So, I listened, and I learned. PNINs allowed me again to mould an intermediate library.

But with my youth space experiences I knew that to create readers, first adopting reading as a habit was crucial for them not to fall off the wagon as they entered those teenage years. On my library journey I discovered the power books — how they are mirrors or doorways, how they could reflect people using them or allow them to escape. That became my mantra. As I read more, I realised how much the library world had evolved.

When I was young books were generic, lacked diversity. Now kids can, usually, see themselves in books and escape into worlds I couldn't have dreamed of even with my powerful labrador brain.

How to engage readers

Knowing how powerful reading can be in the lives of young people, it's somewhat upsetting to me that we're in a world where reading engagement is in decline and literacy rates in Aotearoa New Zealand is an issue. It seems at present that it's about the instruction of reading not highlighting the benefits.

I know we're in a time when New Zealand authors and illustrators are at their strongest. The material, the treats are there, how do we get them to the feast. So, as a librarian and as Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador I've been advocating for, encouraging and supporting children and young people to read for pleasure, to establish or reestablish the habit in the case of young people and adults.

I know there's a market for reading self-help books to tell you what sea creature you might be or learn how to Marie Kondo up a storm telling you you only have 30 books on your bookshelf. And of course, we cannot go past the massive market that spicy fiction has become and of course you can't beat a good old Mills and Boon. Don't judge me.

You can of course read what brings you joy but we must be keeping an eye on what is moving our younger readers. In a perfect world the reading habit is one that we both get into at home and more importantly at school, because reading for instruction and reading for indulgence are two different things.

The power of reading for pleasure

Reading for pleasure is an independent and social practice. It complements reading programmes in schools and is the heart of any school reading culture. In her in her report How teachers who read create readers, researcher Sue McDowell writes:

“Reading for pleasure counts as learning. There’s so much research that shows children who read for pleasure have all sorts of better life outcomes including achievement … Reading is meant to be a joyful, purposeful, exciting experience and learning skills is important so you can have those experiences, it’s not an end in itself.”

Reading for pleasure is something now that is kind of seen as a reward, especially for us grown-ups. Curling up with a book in a quiet spot with snackage or a tasty beverage. We almost see it as if it should be a rarity. Instead, it should be a habit, something done regularly, even if it's done at a set time so you know you will do it.

Author Kate DiCamillo says:

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift. I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everyone involved.”

So we know reading is important. The question for me always has been how we show a new generation of readers that joy of reading?

How to raise the profile of reading in Aotearoa

This is sometimes a bit of a struggle in a country like Aotearoa New Zealand. We're an outdoors

Country, an active nation full of can-do number eight wire, she’ll be right thinking, worshipping idols like Hillary, McCaw, Carrington, Apirata. Hillary's sense of exploration. Richie's skill at the breakdown. Willie Apiata’s on the battlefield, and Lisa Carrington's shoulders. They are without doubt New Zealand role models and absolutely deserve all the kudos.

Visual

Slide shown with a photo of Alan presenting to a group of seated boys in a school hall. On the slide is a quote:

“What a treat! IT is so significant for our boys to see an enthusiastic, passionate, and successful male reading role model. Alan’s presentation was so good and really struck a message with our students and staff about the importance of reading —and that we are all readers.”
— St Kentigern Boy’s School

Audio

Alan Dingley: I've spoken to over 15,000 people on my journey so far, mostly students as Te Awhi Rito at schools, conferences and events, and one of the first questions I've always asked a group that I'm speaking to; Can you name some famous New Zealanders? Hands go up, Sir Edmund Hillary and Richie McCaw are the two names that were uttered at every event. New Zealand authors and illustrators? Not so much. I love my sport don't get me wrong. I love that about us Kiwi we punch well above our population. But it also saddens me in a way because it's taken so long for the sheer awesomeness of our authors and illustrators to get some of that adulation we shower on our sports people and politicians. Tact. Imagine if our libraries became as popular as those rugby sidelines, our bookstores visited as regularly as sports shops, our children's bedroom walls adorned with book posters up next to Ardie Savia and Ruby Tui who has an awesome autobiography Straight Up, got to read it.

So out of the 15,000 people in over 80 schools, how many times was a New Zealand author or illustrator called out. Hands up if you think more than 500. Hands up if you think more than 200. Hands up more than 100. More than 50. How about 14. As of Nelson February 2025. Ball, Mahy, Cowley, Hunt, Hill, Duder, Beale.

New Zealand has a unique cultural and national context that needs to be considered when contemplating how to engage our nation in reading. Reading is sometimes seen as that inactive pursuit and who as a child in the holidays or weekend was told; get your nose out of that book, get outside and get some fresh air. This was my childhood. I would take my friends, my books, and read all day long if I could. I was hiding in those pages. Struggling to make friends or a friend group that would fit.

My mother was ill for a lot of my childhood before she passed away when I was 15, so those books were an escape. To be told to come back to reality and go outside Because what I did for joy wasn't seen as a normal, worthwhile pastime was a hard thing to fathom. So part of the challenge is breaking the stereotype of reading for pleasure being a solitary or an active pursuit. For many children, young people and adults reading is a very social activity. There's a reason kids love to talk about what they're reading, and hear stories read aloud and why book clubs are so popular.

But there are also other barriers to reading. Obviously, screens, social media, they can all be wonderful things and believe me I have every streaming service under the sun, but kids have so much information coming at them. They're stimulated in so many ways. Screens and digital world is compelling and it's designed to be so.

Visual

Slide of an image of Alan sitting on the floor in a school hall in front of a group of young children. He has his back to them and has his hand raised and a young boy sitting next to him is smiling with his hands on his ears.

Audio

Alan Dingley: My sessions. I love that. Sorry, that was such a good time.

Give young people choice and agency

I believe in the power of books and words so what I did is I stood in front of these children and young people. These teachers, school leaders, librarians, these families, communities, and I tell them my story. How I became a reader. The importance of reading role models and how lucky I was to have a pop. I read to them. Loudly and with joy.

I tell them how to sit a reading trap in their house. What you do is you find a picture book you like. You sit where someone can hear you or see you and you read it loudly with joy. You laugh when there's something to laugh at. You gasp when there's something to gasp at. You go oooo when there's some kissy kissy or something. Then when you finished you loudly close that book and say, “wow that was awesome.” You leave it on your seat, and you leave the room. You have laid a reading trap for that person. And they love that idea.

I ask them for their advice. I tell them I have a library, it's full of shelves, but I have no books. I have a great budget I can buy whatever I want. I know wishful thinking librarians, but I say to them I'm a 50-year-old Pākehā man. What do I know about what young people want to read? Secretly knowing of course I know a heck of a lot about what they want to read. I ask them what a library should look like, what books should be on the shelves, and let them know that they should be in control of what is on offer. I say to them, when

you're young you get very little choice over things. You're told where to go, what to do, what to say, what to wear. Books and libraries are things that you have choice and control over. What an amazing thing to be told. The library needs to always reflect the reader and the community.

And it's important that children have help finding the right book at the right time. In those early days at Monrad intermediate the kids came from low socio-economic backgrounds and they weren't readers. The magic happened when I put the right book in the right hands, when a child laughed at something in the book for the first time or turned a page with that genuine excitement. Some kids try to find ways to avoid reading but once they find that one book that resonates, they're hooked. Finding the right book means asking questions.

What do you like?

What are your hobbies?

Do you game?

What was the last book you read?

A reluctant reader who loves gaming might enjoy Ready Player One for example. It's about making a connection first and using the books to deepen it.

For a long time, there's been a stereotypical approach to book recommendations. Boys got action books, girls got romance. But kids don't fit into those neat boxes. Many of the boys in my high school library at Freyberg actually love the romance books and the girls crave the adventures. Publishing is finally caught up, producing stories that reflect those diverse identities. When children read what they enjoy they are more likely to develop a positive attitude towards reading,

Whether it's comic books, fantasy novels, information about their favourite animals, the key is to help them find books they enjoy and they are engaged, interested and exercising and growing that reading muscle.

Research shows children who can choose their reading material are more enthusiastic and motivated readers, what Sue had said.

Visual

Alan sitting in a chair in Nayland College School Library looking at a book with a group of students around him.

Inspiring and engaging a reading community

Alan Dingley: My most recent tour was to Nelson, and one of the favourite parts of my school visits are, if I have time, to visit the school Library to see the kids in their natural habitat. Luckily at Nayland College, Interval was directly after my presentation, so I retired to the library after telling the crowd that anyone was welcome to come and have a chat. I was surrounded by a lovely group of passionate readers, all waiting their turn to tell me what books were their current, or long-time favourites. I believe part of their joy and enthusiasm in chatting to me is they had found another book-lover to talk to. Not a teacher, not a grown-up, just a fellow explorer of books. That’s what has worked well on my journey. Asking young people what they are passionate about and then listening and validating those interests.

But a school visit isn’t just about inspiring students—it’s about engaging educators and families too. If a child walks into a library after I leave, excited to read, I’ve done my job. But it has to go beyond that. Schools need to foster that excitement. If a child is fired up about books but isn’t supported by their teachers, parents, or librarians, that enthusiasm will soon fizzle out. Reading needs to be reinforced in the classroom, in the library, and at home.

Parents, teachers, and librarians all play a role in making reading a priority. Kids need reading role models—adults that read and talk about books. A child who sees their teacher or parent reading is more likely to pick up a book themselves. Even if parents aren’t big readers, they can encourage reading by letting their kids take the lead—visiting libraries, choosing books together, or simply reading aloud. And by building a relationship with the kids they connect that child and their interests and opens doors to the joy and connection books and reading provides.

Connecting to interests and the child

At the start of my sessions, I also ask ‘who here likes reading, and reads on a regular basis?’ Not many hands go up, so then I say ‘okay be brave. Put your hand up if you're not a regular reader, and haven't found your reading journey yet?’

Of course, more hands go up, and I tell them, it's just that someone has tried to help but couldn’t find the right book at that time, and so I see that as part of my job. Helping teachers and educators who are trying their best to tick the ever-growing number of boxes and just give them another tool to wield.

The great thing I started to notice was that when I asked them about what books should be in a young person’s library, and what were their favourites, the ones that started them down their reading road, the ones that might still be in their heads, or their hearts (be warned dear listeners, I will be asking you to ponder that question yourself) they enthusiastically put their hands up to offer me titles. The ones that said they weren't readers always put their hand up. They still had a book when you asked them directly and that was the great thing about it. And I would always run out of time in those sessions.

At the end of the session I was surrounded by a group of kids who hadn’t been able to get their hand up in time to tell me a book. And I would always try and find time and listened to every book they had. I prided myself on being able to fie back a line or two about that book. If I didn’t know the name of the book, I would be amazed and excited and joyful I was learning a new book, so they felt important that they were educating me.

There was a really powerful moment in one of the Nelson schools. A young girl, who had put her hand up very straight, and she asked in that very deliberate way that only the neurodivergent can, and she told me, when I asked to suggest a book, I don't have a book suggestion but I am writing a book. Hand down.

I was just like, I said, wow it's amazing and as the group afterwards were telling me their books she waited just outside of the group, eyes poking out from under her fringe. So, I detangled myself from the pack, shooed them towards the door and turned to her. She nervously told me she was writing her book. It wasn't her first, but she thinks it's her best. I told her what an amazing thing to do and how in awe I was because I have an idea for a book but I'm too scared to write it. She looked at me and said. “I think it's hard, until you just start.”

I thanked her then a burst of energy exploded into the room.

“There you are.” This was her best friend. He was obviously the storm to her calm.

“I help her write the books I give her heaps of ideas.”

She smiled and headed out the door, him bounding behind her just like a labrador.

They want to share those little joys with someone passionate about something that's important to them, and by commenting or describing on every book they call out they know it has value. They know they've been heard and I'm proud of that skill.

The children’s author SF Said, that book Tyger, it’s gorgeous:

“If you want children to read, let them read what they love!

So I think we have to help every child find the things that will make them readers — even if we, as adults, can’t always see the value in those things. When I ask kids what they like to read, I always try to share their excitement, even if the book or author they mention is not one that I personally love. Because I know their excitement will lead them on to other books and authors, whereas dismissing their choices might crush their identities as readers, putting an end to their reading altogether.”

Shelve your reading bias

And to engage this nation of readers, once we’ve figured out the access, we need to let them have as much choice and scope and agency over their reading choices. They must be able to pick the book about the pony, the football player, the wizard, the bum, the brain, the heart. They must feel as though they have control over their reading journey, which means we must be prepared. We must know what’s out there, what’s hot, what’s not, what’s a classic, old AND new.

We must shelve personal taste, our own bias and pre-conceived notions of what makes a book a ‘worthy’ choice.

We must take care not to be backseat drivers on their reading journeys.

It's important for children to feel they can return to their favourite authors and books, which are sometimes a safety net, comforting, enjoyable.

I talk a lot on my visits about ‘judging a book by its cover. I tell them I’ll let them in on a secret. That saying applies to people. Never judge someone by their appearance, judge them on their character and how they treat you and others. BUT you can judge a book by its cover. If the author/publisher/illustrator hasn’t put effort into the cover or the blurb, why should you read their book?

If it doesn’t interest you, put it down and pick up another one. The example I use for this is a book called, ‘The Day My Bum Went Psycho’. I discovered this on one of my first days in that library, at Monrad Intermediate. I had agreed to take over the school library and suddenly realised I had not read a children’s book in 10 years.

So, the day before I was going to open it, I thought right, I’m going to judge a book by its cover. I went in and looked at the first display left by the last librarian.

And there on the top shelf on its own, as if the light had come through the window like Indiana Jones, Aha, was a book with a bum on the cover. Now children today have got, is it Tor McMillan's picture books, I've lost my Bum, I Need a New Bum, Dogs have Lost a Bum, Captain Underpants. It's normal for them.

For me, giggling, early 2000s there was a bum on the cover and the title The Day My Bum Went Psycho. I thought yep here's my start. Here's my journey. Again I got lucky. That was the first book I started on my journey of what to put in my library for kids and I still remember the blurb:

“Zac woke up. There, standing on his windowsill bathed in moonlight, was his bum.

It turned and looked at him, then jumped out into the night. Zac sat up and said, “Oh no… not again”

And I say to the kids’; What questions does that fire from your head?

And it's always logistics.

Bum comes off. Yeah can't sit up it fall over, but yeah but how does he poo? That's a good question, that's great, oh not again. Where's it going? I said that's what good blurb does, it fires off questions in your head, it makes you want to read the book.

Knowing the books

I don’t consider myself a very well-read in the adult side of things. I love my reading, but children’s and young persons, that’s where my enjoyment is. And you’ve got to imagine reading as a ladder. Each rung represents a different level of reading complexity, comprehension and enjoyment. As with a physical ladder, it’s important that children climb at their own pace. Some may be eager to move up quickly. Others may prefer to spend more time on a particular rung.

Instead of rushing them up that ladder, moving them off that rung, if we don’t like what they’re reading, widen the rung.

Children’s (and adults’) reading preferences can be incredibly diverse. Different genres and formats offer various benefits, from improving vocabulary to enhancing creativity. Graphic novels, for example, are slowly but surely shrugging off the inherited negative stereotype that they aren’t ‘real books’. Studies have proven that graphic novels have more complex words than novels on average, largely due to their limited space, so they value the word more. They are a great way to engage reluctant students and help them develop a love for storytelling. Encouraging children to explore different types of books without pressuring them to conform to a specific standard can lead to richer and more fulfilling reading experiences.

I challenge parents and educators alike to read what they are reading, walk a mile in their Crocs!

It might include reading together, discussing books, providing a wide range of reading materials.

By showing interest in what they’re reading, helping them find what they enjoy, valuing their choices and help them develop that genuine love for reading.

Librarians, teachers, educators must make the effort to read and to know what is out there. Sometimes you have to ‘bait the hook’ to draw them in, to get them started. Then you can be ready to champion a range of books, but you must be prepared.

Teachers and librarians supporting readers

A lot of the work at National Library, Storylines, RreadNZ is to encourage teachers to read widely. They understand librarians are vital and teachers need to be empowered to read more and find out about books too. Especially as so many schools don’t have libraries. School and public librarians are, or at least need to be, prepared to make those recommendations, ready to deal with whatever the reader needs in that moment. Whether its dragons or horses, science or fantasy. Bring them through the door, and ask the librarian, do you have any suggestions?”

I believe you can tell a good librarian at that moment. Either their face will set into a mask of terror, or it will be lit from within with joyous wonder as book after book cascades across their inner catalogue, and then they will ask something like, “what do you like, what do you like to read?”

These superheroes of the shelves are there, because they know that books are Kryptonite to ignorance. That books give you x-ray vision into other worlds. That they allow you to fly, to soar. That they can protect you from the bullets life has thrown at you.

I salute my fellow librarians. May the odds ever be in your favour.

I realise that I am biased of course, but if you had seen what I have seen as I visited schools and communities around this country, you would have seen knowledge, resilience, joy, and an unyielding resolve to keep putting books in hands of any child lucky enough to walk through those doors.

Of course, I am not saying that libraries and librarians are going to be the only saviours in this decline in reading engagement, (of course we could be if we had time/money/space) but they are such an important piece of the puzzle.

Inequity of access

So, we’ve established I was lucky. I had a reading role model, I had a library, both in town and at school. Anderson Park Primary, had 60 kids, it was in the Bronx of Havelock North, but people don’t talk about it. It’s been mowed down since. But this was the early 80’s and a school Library was just something you had. It was a no-brainer.

Sadly, that’s not the case today. So many New Zealand schools do not have a functioning library, with an experienced, passionate librarian in place. And in some communities, there is very limited access to any other sources.

And we wonder why literacy rates have been consistently dropping.

I tell you that, in most cases, this is not the want of the schools, or the communities, as educators know the value in having that safe space within their school, which is purely for the students.

Budget, space, time, you name it, they are up against it. It’s about ensuring kids have something to read, no matter what their circumstances.

In my role as Te Awhi Rito I can happily say I have been to almost every corner of our beautiful country. I have been to very high decile, very well resourced large urban schools with beautifully renovated libraries, and I’ve been to single class rural schools. In those communities the concept of a library is a bit foreign, sometimes the closest being hundreds of km away, therefore inaccessible.

Access to literacy is a fundamental right that should be available to all, regardless of their background or circumstances. During my travels, I have encountered communities where access to books and literacy resources are limited.

Pūtoi Rito Communities of Readers Programme

I am lucky to be part of some of the programmes that are trying to change this, to find new ways to connect communities to books and reading. The National Library’s Pūtoi Rito Communities of Readers Programme was one of the beautiful plans to create the conditions to ensure access and opportunity. These are built on long-established work by Services to Schools, who broaden these community connections in so many ways.

There were six co-designed community projects increased access to a wide variety and diversity of books including those in te reo Māori and languages spoken at home in each community They supported and introduced reading role models, normalised books and reading and connected communities to existing services provided by schools and libraries.

I visited Dargaville during the project there, which was a partnership between Kaipara Libraries, local primary schools and the National Library. I ate a fantastic sandwich shop and watched as punters browsed books from the pop-up library box, which are stationed in shops all through the town.

I went to South Dunedin and revelled in the splendidly widespread ripples from the Communities of Readers project there.

On another visit to Northland my driver, the lovely Anne Dickson, and I spent one of our days travelling out to an isolated rural area and I visited two single class schools, and I saw the difference that passionate staff and whānau, along with connection from programmes like Communities of Readers, can have. One of the schools, Kaihu Valley School, was obviously a community, almost family-led affair, as “Aunty” met us at the desk, told us her niece who had organised the trip was away, waved at “Uncle” who was on the mower on the lawn, and headed to the class, where the reliever was a local ex-teacher who helped when needed.

There were nine students in that class, two with learning difficulties, and they all beamed at the prospect of someone coming to share books with them. So, I read to them for 45mins. My usual chat and banter would have been lost on them, so we all sat together on the mat and shared books I had bought, but also the books they had in their class due the project. Connecting with a school like that is humbling. The realities of an isolated community, doing what they need to do to provide the best for their tamariki. Then an hour later in the other direction was another single class, single teacher school, Tangowahine, but this was obviously in a different socio-economic area.

Visual

Slide on screen titled Northland vibes. The five photos show Alan standing in front of five school signs from Whangaparāoa College, Tangowahine School, Whangarei Girls High School, Kaihu valley School and the last sign is a multicoloured mural.

Audio

Alan Dingley: The school was spit-polish shiny, we were shown into their bright, busy library, and the students made me sit down, and read to me!

It felt like a different world from the last school, but the passion and joy for the sharing of stories was the same.

In Dunedin I saw the impacts the National Library facilitators who’d been part of the Communities of Readers project, had had on the schools, as every librarian met them with enthusiasm, and gushed to me about how they’d been able to promote their libraries to their communities, in ways that hadn’t been possible before. Taieri College told us they’d scheduled a chat with 200 students but then the English teachers begged to be part of it, filled the auditorium, we had 450. Because they knew the value of students hearing the message.

And this work continues. Bringing together communities, and providing access to new projects, new resources, and promoting that love of reading, no matter what the background or community.

Developing the reading habit

I said earlier that reading has to be a habit, a learned behaviour, and the only way that happens is if they have, from day one, access to words, books, and again reading role models.

So, habits again are where we start.

Imagine prioritising reading as a family in your house or at school? Where everyone stops what they were doing, grabs their book, and sits down to read for 30 minutes, or allow themselves to be read to. DARE/ or SSR in the home.

The benefits of this would no doubt be many, but the most crucial one would be that your children, your family, would see you reading. You would be modelling the habit, showing them that you too can get lost in a book.

Reading aloud is one of the most important things you can do for your children as emerging readers. And I might just read aloud for you a little bit later…

I mentioned earlier that reading doesn’t just happen and I mentioned the word access.

Promote diverse and inclusive literature

We must also advocate and champion the importance of cultural representation in literature, that reflects the schools and communities across Aotearoa. All cultures stories and voices must be reflected in the books we provide. It is essential for children to see themselves in the stories they encounter, to feel a sense of belonging and pride in their identity. Promoting diverse and inclusive literature is a key part of this mission, and we should be committed to amplifying the voices of our Māori and Pasifika communities, as well as all other underrepresented groups.

Our school communities are looking so different to what they were 20 years ago. It has been slow, but trends are changing. Demand for Te reo, and dyslexia-friendly content is skyrocketing. Publishers are listening and are adding a more diverse range of authors and illustrators, even the covers are becoming more vibrant and eye-catching, especially I am proud to say, on the New Zealand authors books.

This so important for growing that generation of reading role models.

For them to be able to see themselves, their whānau, their communities in these titles. They deserve those mirror books.

So the mahi is happening. All over.

Then there’s me.

The Doorway or the Mirror — the value of books

I’m going to ask you dear listeners to think on something I mentioned earlier. What book started you on your reading journey? What book might still in your head, or in your heart? I’ll ask you to share that at the end.

Reflecting on ourselves as readers and our own reading journey reminds us of the importance of what books and reading means to us. This can then help us connect with how we might encourage our children to take up a journey into these pages.

As I mentioned earlier this generation has more distractions and information than any previous generation before them. Social media, screens, and now AI.

However, it’s not just that, I think they are expected to be more emotionally connected than we were ever expected to be. We didn’t talk openly about our emotions, didn’t talk about bullying, anxiety, depression, whereas today these are all topics regularly broached with young people.

You can’t make sense of a world that’s not shown to you. How can you value or understand your place if it is not reflected truthfully?

Prescription Pad literature

That’s where I know books and reading are so vitally important. Imagine a child, or an adult to be honest, not knowing how to express something, but then being given a book that they can see themselves or their problem in? I am a fan of the concept of what I call Prescription Pad Literature. Giving the reader a book that addresses a need, that the reader may or may not now they have. It is something that I have taken as a huge part of my library work, purely because it became a large part of my life too.

When my wife Kirsty passed away in 2017, a good friend gave me a book called The Fix-it Dad, and I was told now was the time to walk my talk. I had been prescribing books to people for a long time, now it was my turn to receive those gifts.

As I’ve said before, I am very lucky.

I am going to read you the book that has become a Prescription Pad Literature book of late. A favourite for me. In today’s world, anxiety and depression ise more commonplace than ever, and not just in the young people of today. The New Zealand author Mel Szymanik gave me permission to read it, and I thank her publishers as well, and she gave me permission to share a little about how it came to be as well.

Mel said she woke up one day and it felt like there was an elephant sitting on her chest.

Visual

Alan holds the picture book My Elephant is Blue and reads it aloud.

Audio

Alan Dingley: Elephant is blue, by Melinda Szymanik, illustrations by Vasanti Unka.

One morning I woke to find an elephant sitting on my chest. I found it hard to get up or move around or breathe or talk.

"I'm Blue" the elephant said.

"Can you please move Blue", I asked.

"I don't want to move, this is a good spot for me to sit"

"Your crushing me", I said.

"Yet I find you very comfortable", said Blue.

Mum and Dad were worried, they said "Perhaps if you cheered up a bit, or smiled at it."

It's hard to cheer up or smile when there's an elephant sitting on your chest.

My brother said "Wow, that's different."

I said, "I don't want to be different, at least not like this."

"Maybe if I helped you push", my sister said.

She leaned against Blue while I shoved. Even together we weren't strong enough.

"It's and elephant", I said.

"It's and elephant!", Mum and Dad said.

Surely it can't stay forever, it's bound to move on sometime. I hope sometime soon.

Mum took out every book on elephants, out of the library and started reading.

Dad rang an elephant specialist that someone had recommended.

"It might help if you ate something", Mum said.

"Not hungry"

It was true.

"Not even for chocolates?" said Mum.

I thought about this and shook my head. Not even for chocolate.

"I'll keep it here until you are hungry." she said.

Dad said, "Exercise and fresh air never hurts."

I was tired of staying around the house all the time, I wanted to go for a walk but it seemed impssible to walk with an elephant on your chest.

"I want to go for a walk," I said to Blue.

"Can you move?"

"Vvvvvvv.' Blue said turning her back on me. Was she crying?

"Would you like to come for a walk with me?' I said.

"We can go together."

Blue helped me by putting two feet on the ground. We managed to walk around the block.

"That walk was nice." Blue said the next day.

"Would you like to go on another one?" I asked.

"Maybe"

This time we walked around the block in the other direction. Some people said hello to us and smiled.

We both smiled back. It would have been rude not to.

The next day Dad said "Let's all go for a walk."

As I put on my shoes I asked Blue "Are you hungry?"

"No" said Blue, "At least not yet."

"Mum's packing a picnic. What are your favourite things to eat?"

We went to the park because elephants like to eat grass and bark. We had sandwiches and pie and the chocolate Mum had saved, and some grapes and some apples, which Blue and I shared.

Blue put all four feet on the ground to reach the grass.

He munched for ages then we lay down side by side. The sun shone and fresh air blew on our faces. I felt lighter than I had in a long time.

My sister and I played roly-poly while Blue watched. Then all of us played football. On the way home Blue walked beside me and I held her trunk in my hand.

I noticed something had changed.

"Blue" I said, "You are turning pink."

"That's because I don't feel so blue anymore." she said.

Blue still iives with us. I take her for walks and we share our favourite things to keep her in the pink.

Although sometimes she is blue again.

I have discovered she has other colours. Yellow is the one I like best.

Alan Dingley: And trying to get an idea of anxiety, depression in today’s world across to kids can be a really hard thing. That. is the power of books.

Hopes for the Future

Alan Dingley: As my time in this role comes to an end, I hope the next Te Awhi Rito can build on the momentum I believe we’ve all created, to continue spreading the message of the importance of reading. I want reading for pleasure to be ingrained in New Zealand’s culture — to be celebrated, encouraged and made a habit.

I hope they get to see as much of the country as I have, and even more. To do it their way. To find out what it is they have that can bring joy, passion, knowledge and drive to this incredibly important, incredibly soul-filling role.

And it’s the little things I remember. I come to realise are the important things. Here is a quote from some feedback we got from Clifton Terrace School, the school with the little girl who had written a book with her labrador friend.

“I have heard back from parents whose kids came home buzzing, especially some of our neurodiverse students who were awestruck to meet someone" whose brain works like mine".

Reading advocacy is about creating ripples—every conversation, every book recommendation, every visit to a school adds to the movement. If we continue to recruit reading role models, to inspire kids to become role models themselves, then we are succeeding.

Find out what they are passionate about at that moment in time, and ensure they have access to reading material that reflects that.

Read yourself, guilt free.

Let kids see you reading. Chat to them about what you’re reading.

Be the role model.

Turn children into reading role models for each other.

The best thing we can do is create a culture where books are valued, shared, and celebrated.

My favourite author Sir Terry Pratchett wrote:

“The Library didn't only contain magical books, the ones which are chained to their shelves and are very dangerous. It also contained perfectly ordinary books, printed on commonplace paper in mundane ink. It would be a mistake to think that they weren't also dangerous, just because reading them didn't make fireworks go off in the sky. Reading them sometimes did the more dangerous trick of making fireworks go off in the privacy of the reader's brain.”

Because every child deserves to find the book that sets off those fireworks. That book that they see themselves in, or the one that provides the doorway to escape for a while.

So just remember, we are all stories in the end, so let’s make it a good one eh?

Thank you all.