What’s the story?

Storytelling is an innate part of who we are on this island and the awards seek to promote this. For Karina, storytelling matters for children because it is a powerful tool for learning, connection, and development. Through stories, children learn about language, culture, emotions, and problem-solving while engaging their imaginations and creativity.

It also strengthens literacy skills, such as vocabulary, comprehension, and sequencing, as children listen to and retell stories. Furthermore, storytelling fosters emotional development by allowing children to explore feelings, empathy, and different perspectives through characters and situations.

For Elaina Ryan, CEO of Childrens Books Ireland, the value of reading and storytelling should be encourage from an early age. “It’s vital that families build reading into their day right from the very start of a baby’s life and encourage reading through the teenage years and beyond.”

Ryan notes that a robust body of evidence shows the many and varied benefits of reading, among them positive effects on literacy and numeracy, improved mental wellbeing and higher levels of empathy.

“Children who read for pleasure regularly perform better at school, and readers are more likely to overcome the barriers caused by disadvantage. Above all, though, reading is a gift that can last for a lifetime. A book allows a child to take comfort, to explore difficult situations in a safe way, to escape to fantastical worlds, to be entertained, to learn, and so much more.”

So how is Ireland doing in terms of children’s literacy? According to Elaina Ryan, Ireland performs well in international reading assessments, with PIRLS (at primary level) and PISA (at secondary level) being the two on which most emphasis is placed. Both measure reading literacy and Ireland is among the highest performing countries in both studies. “However, both Irish and international studies show universally that those from less advantaged backgrounds and boys from all backgrounds do not perform as well at reading literacy and are reading less than girls and those from more advantaged backgrounds.”

Ryan emphasises that even as one of the higher performing nations in the literacy rankings, there is a marked difference between performing at reading literacy – that is, the ability to understand and engage with texts – and what we call reading for joy. “Our view, which is supported by evidence, is that we must encourage reading for the sheer joy of it at every age in order to develop lifelong readers who can reap the many benefits of being a reader, and delight in the artforms of literature and illustration.”

Children’s Books Ireland is dedicated to giving every child on the island of Ireland the opportunity to become a reader. Every year they publish hundreds of book reviews to help guide the adults in children’s lives, they work with schools to embed a culture of reading for joy throughout the education cycle and support the authors and illustrators who make great work for children and young people.

Summing up for KPMG, Karina says “The feedback that we get from our own people in encouraging kids to read is phenomenal. The awards themselves are a tremendous celebration of reading and the positive impact on all of our participants is palpable.”