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Make books part of children’s natural habitat: Ken Spillman
Australian author Ken Spillman talks about how books should be made a natural habitat for children, to encourage them to read. He also says that freedom of thought and speech makes us more tolerant.
“It’s important to stay in touch with the child that is in all of us,” says Ken Spillman. The Australian writer, who was in the city, shares how children in Indian schools are still kept away from books, and how freedom of thought and speech makes one more tolerant.
Spillman has written 35 books spanning across genres, including the Jake Series, which is also popular in India. Ask the author how difficult is it to write engaging tales for young adults and pat comes the reply, “It is easier to draw young audiences.”
His reply might come as a surprise to parents who get exhausted trying to keep their young ones amused and entertained. He says, “One way to make a child read is to leave books on the table and say ‘Don’t read them’. For sure they will fiddle with them… even if they just browse; they will surely register the visuals in the book.”
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Spillman first came to India 10 years ago. “Since then, I have been coming here regularly and have seen a tremendous change in the book industry. Indian writing for children has moved beyond Ruskin Bond and RK Narayan, who were earlier always talked about… Now there are more writers and titles. More Indian authors are household names,” he says.
On this trip, the author participated in the annual congress Jumpstart, and travelled across states. “In one of the sessions at a school in Mangalore, a boy asked me ‘Are we allowed to read novels?’ I have been to so many libraries and have noticed that the books are locked away behind glass doors. If we want children to read, we have to make books a part of their natural habitat.”
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Known to present social history in a lucid-style, Spillman says: “Giving voice to the past is important. Societies have a very short remembrance in today’s 24-hour news cycle. In this age, it is important to narrate history to children through engaging narratives, without screens blaring at us.”
What seems to worry him more is curbing the right to freedom of speech. “The 21st century is calling out for more understanding and kindness. Leaders in politics and education must recognise that developing readers deliver more than academic success – it can make our societies more tolerant and cohesive,” he says.