- By Emma Ruminski & Charlotte Cox
- BBC Spotlight
A head teacher has started a festival of children’s literature to inspire the next generation to read for pleasure.
Simon Pollard, from Cornwall’s Carclaze Community Primary School, has invited 16 authors and illustrators, including Clare Helen Walsh and Rebecca Cobb, to St Austell for the event on Saturday.
He said there was a “moral duty to get children to try to love books”.
He hopes the St Austell Festival of Children’s Literature will become an annual event.
Mr Pollard said: “Reading for pleasure, choosing to read, is the biggest driver for economic success for children.
“More than whether your parents go to university or anything like that.
“It’s just thinking, ‘I want to read, I get engaged in books and I love them’, is what makes a difference.”
Each event by an author or illustrator is taking place at venues across St Austell.
They will each cost £1, while children will be able to handover their tickets in exchange for £1 off a book from the festival bookshop.
Truro-based author Sarah Tagholm, who is due to attend, said: “It’s expensive to travel so for a lot of families going to Bath or going to London for a literature festival, that’s not an option.
“But to be able to have a festival on your doorstep, with such incredible authors coming along… is such a great opportunity.”
Clare Helen Walsh, an author and former teacher, said reading “wasn’t just for lessons in schools”.
“It’s about reading for pleasure, highlighting lots of different types of books, some children like factual ones or graphic novels.
“It’s just broadening children’s scope about what kinds of books are on offer.”
The event has been funded by grants and sponsorship including Cornwall Council Community Chest, St Austell Town Council, and a range of businesses.
