Reading is the doorway

In April 2025, Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador Alan Dingley published a blog post titled 'Reading is the doorway', available here. Excerpts from the blog post follow:

How to engage readers

Knowing how powerful reading can be in the lives of young people, it's somewhat upsetting to me that we're in a world where reading engagement is in decline and literacy rates in Aotearoa New Zealand is an issue. It seems at present that it's about the instruction of reading not highlighting the benefits.

I know we're in a time when New Zealand authors and illustrators are at their strongest. The material, the treats are there, how do we get them to the feast. So, as a librarian and as Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador I've been advocating for, encouraging and supporting children and young people to read for pleasure, to establish or reestablish the habit in the case of young people and adults. ...

The power of reading for pleasure

Reading for pleasure is an independent and social practice. It complements reading programmes in schools and is the heart of any school reading culture. In her report How teachers who read create readers, researcher Sue McDowell writes:

“Reading for pleasure counts as learning. There’s so much research that shows children who read for pleasure have all sorts of better life outcomes including achievement … Reading is meant to be a joyful, purposeful, exciting experience and learning skills is important so you can have those experiences, it’s not an end in itself.”

Reading for pleasure is something now that is kind of seen as a reward, especially for us grown-ups. Curling up with a book in a quiet spot with snackage or a tasty beverage. We almost see it as if it should be a rarity. Instead, it should be a habit, something done regularly, even if it's done at a set time so you know you will do it.

Author Kate DiCamillo says:

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift. I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everyone involved.”