Just like ordinary books
Patience Thomson, Co-founder and Consultant Editor of the award-winning publisher Barrington Stoke, talks to Madelyn Travis.
According to government figures, a staggering 35% of 14-year-olds in England and Wales are not reaching their expected reading level. There are many reasons for this; some are physical, such as visual impairment; some, including frequent family moves, are circumstantial; and some are caused by learning difficulties like dyslexia.
But although the barriers to reading are many and varied, the techniques used to surmount each type of difficulty are being combined to provide a multifaceted means of addressing the problem as a whole.
Publisher Barrington Stoke is at the forefront of initiatives to get reluctant readers to enjoy books. The publishing house was set up by Patience Thomson, former principal at a school for children with learning difficulties, and Lucy Juckes, whose career had been in publishing.
Their aim in founding Barrington Stoke was to convert disenchanted readers into reading enthusiasts by providing books that they actively wanted to read.
Their aim in founding Barrington Stoke was to convert disenchanted readers into reading enthusiasts by providing books that they actively wanted to read. To achieve this they enlisted a range of specialists including educational psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and an orthoptist, as well as teachers and librarians, to pool the available knowledge about a range of barriers to reading.
'There is the question of presentation and the question of language,' explains Thomson. 'Schools have bright lights and big windows; you often see children blinking a lot and rubbing their eyes. The orthoptist pointed out that it's easier on the eyes to scan print on cream-coloured paper. Readers will lose their place much less often if the right-hand side of the text is not justified, giving more character to the lines. More space between the letters and words, lines and paragraphs makes text far easier to decipher.'
In addition, Barrington Stoke designed their own font, which features some letters like the 'a' and the 'g' specially adapted to resemble handwriting more closely. They tested all these aspects of presentation on their target audience and refined it until they'd got it right. '39 of the 40 kids said, "That's it, the words have stopped jumping around now." '
At only about 6,000 words, the books are short and exciting. 'If a child picked up a 300-page book they would be daunted, but a book this size they will try.' Their covers make the books blend in with any other title for the target age group: there is no visible sign that they are intended for less able readers. 'They can walk around with these books in school and they just look like ordinary books. The design and cover are very important.'
The Barrington Stoke catalogue features titles for readers aged 8 to young adult. The standard series is for 8-12-year-olds and for teenagers with a reading age of 8+ . There are further options: the gr8reads series is for teenagers with a reading age of below 8, and the 4u2read series features the publisher's standard titles for ages 8-12, but simplified for those with a reading age of below 8.
The books are written by top authors including Michael Morpurgo, Terry Deary, Jeremy Strong, Adele Geras and Bali Rai. When Thomson and Juckes first approached writers for their fledgling company, the authors needed to be convinced of its merits. 'They said "Why should we write for you, what have you published?" We said: nothing yet!'
The clincher was Barrington Stoke's concept of a unique relationship between the authors and their readership. It is a brilliant scheme in which the reluctant readers themselves become editorial consultants. They identify the difficulties they have with each text, advise the author on street-cred language, and even get their names in the printed copy. Their active participation in the production process gives the children an enhanced interest in and sense of ownership of the books even before they are published.
The authors are given guidelines which ask them to devise a simple but gripping plot, and to keep the cast of characters fairly small. Their use of language is not restricted; it is modified in the editing process by Thomson or a colleague, who ensure the texts are accessible to reluctant readers. The occasional challenging word is retained, however, so that they do not feel patronised. The editors ensure that the quality of writing and the essence of the authors' style are retained in the final version, and the authors have final approval. 'They have to be happy with it in order to retain ownership of it,' Thomson points out.
The consultants' role is to read through a draft and highlight words or phrases they don't understand. They can, and do, comment on the storyline. They suggest alterations to dialogue, particularly when characters are talking among themselves, to reflect the genuine 'language of the playground'. According to Thomson, 'They tell us: "They'd never say things like 'He was A-1 at football.'" They use words like "cool" and "wicked" that kids use. We knew they would advise on language, but not that kind of language!'
The consultants tend to prefer to read books that are written in simple, concrete language. 'They have trouble with figurative language and struggle with abstract words. A line from one book read: "He shoved his glasses up his nose." The kids all said: "yuck"!' explains Thomson. She continues, 'Because almost all poor readers have underlying language difficulties, they find it hard to express themselves and hard to interpret quickly and accurately what other people are saying. They are therefore not good at expressing their own emotions or recognising other people's feelings. The children are not so good at communicating, so are sometimes loners at school. A lot of people say, why not give them non-fiction? But fiction gives them an insight into the world of feelings and emotions and helps them to empathise with others and to understand themselves.'
The hands-on editorial experience that the children gain undoubtedly enhances their CVs, but more importantly, it empowers them: they find that reading is no longer something to be disliked or feared. Thomson is certain that Barrington Stoke titles can help disaffected readers to see reading as an enriching and fun activity. 'They are motivated and, yes, they do go on to read. They have read a real book with chapters by a real author, and overnight they become a real reader.'
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