Dubosarsky visited Kurri Preschool and a number of other schools in the area.

The visit was organised by Karen Bruce from Kurri Library, using funding from the Country Arts Support Program (CASP).

Dubosarsky was also the guest speaker at a fundraising dinner for Kurri Preschool, held at Kurri Bowling Club on May 24.

She spoke on the topic “Why do children want to read?... And what you can do to help”.

Her main points were:

- Children want to spend time with you, their parent, and a story generally gives them your undivided attention for the time it takes.

- Reading aloud to your children does pay off in the long run. Even if the child is slow learning to read, once they do start, they will rapidly improve, so stick with it!

- Don’t feel you have to read every word if the child doesn’t have the patience for it – ad-lib or talk about the pictures.

- Choose books with fewer words – often this is a sign that the author has thought deeply about their message and condensed it into fewer words.

- Let children choose their own books on topics they are interested in. The best way to do this is through regular visits to the local library.

- You can also choose some books for your child – books that you loved as a child, or “classics”, beautifully illustrated books, books that address something that is happening in their life or books that you know you will enjoy reading.

The dinner provided a great opportunity for preschool, school, health services and community to discuss reading and how to foster it in Kurri.

“It was so much fun, we’re planning to do it all again in two years’ time,” Kurri Preschool director Jannelle Gallagher said.