British author and illustrator Anthony Browne visited the Oasis Centre in Blackwood recently to talk to local school children about his love of books.
Anthony, who has nearly forty titles to his name, became the sixth Children’s Laureate last year – an appointment that recognises the importance of exceptional children’s writing in creating the ‘readers of tomorrow.’
Speaking about this latest award, Anthony said, “I hope to encourage more children to discover and love reading, but I want to focus particularly on the appreciation of picture books. Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. The best ones leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader’s imagination, adding so much to the excitement of reading a book.”
Caerphilly library service was lucky to be able to offer more than 500 children the chance to spend some time with Anthony during his visit. His presentation included a slide show of favourite illustrations from his many books, followed by a talk highlighting the power of picture books in promoting visual literacy.
Children from schools all over the Caerphilly county borough attended the event and Chris Selby, the School’s Library Service Manager said, “Meeting Anthony was a wonderful experience for everyone concerned and one that I am sure we will treasure for a long time to come.”
