Sharing stories, Bookstart and me - a new mum writes

New mum and translator of children’s books, Sarah Ardizzone, tells us about the fun of sharing stories and why she's pledged for Bookstart.

As a translator of children’s books, I’d always assumed that books from across the globe would be a big part of my own child’s life. And then my son Gabriel came along. From just a few months old, he was bursting to share his physical pleasure in books - as objects of wonder, with magical pages to be turned onto exciting new worlds.

 Bookstart reminds us that nothing beats a story to set your child’s imagination alight, and no baby is ever too young to get started

Witnessing his enthusiasm made me fall in love with books all over again, as some of the most colourful and accessible building blocks of storytelling. Bookstart had a starring role in this love story. In a world of proliferating gizmos for your kids, Bookstart reminds us that nothing beats a story to set your child’s imagination alight, and no baby is ever too young to get started.

Our local children’s centre in Brixton, The Tree House at Holmewood Nursery, was instrumental in providing us with our Bookstart pack and in encouraging an adventurous approach to books from the earliest age - with its excellent ‘Baby Book Crawl’ sessions.

Seeing Gabriel be invited up to the front of the storytelling group and open the flap in Dear Zoo, or spinning with excitement as the plot hotted up in We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, are moments I will always treasure. When your child discovers a book for the first time, it is as if they’re taking a first step.

About Sarah

Award-winning translator Sarah Ardizzone has put her name to over forty books from across the French-speaking world, for everyone from very young children to grown-ups. She promotes access for children to stories from around the globe through projects like Translation Nation and organisations like Outside In.