WHEN St James’ Primary School principal Niamh Marzol was given the option of having an author speak for Book Week, she jumped at the chance.
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On Wednesday morning, the Muswellbrook school welcomed 2013 winner of Television show The Voice Harrison Craig to share his story with the children.
The singer, now a published author, shared how he struggled with a stutter throughout his younger life, and how he didn’t let bullying get in the way of his dream.
His book, Harrison’s Song, takes readers on a journey of how he grew through the experiences.
“I thought it would be wonderful for our children to see someone who had overcome adversity and challenge and who had risen above it and worked hard to achieve what they have achieved,” principal Niamh Marzol said.
“Normally for Book Week we try to get an author to visit but sometimes it’s very difficult to catch them.
“Sometimes we have them later on.
“Harrison is an author of a book about him, so I thought that would be a more relateable.
“This is a real book, about a real person, in a real life situation, and getting to meet him will be very powerful for the kids.”
Mrs Marzol said the annual event was chance to “bring back the wonder and awe in our kids’ ability to lose themselves in a good story”.
“Book Week is one week of the year where you really get to highlight the wonder of books,” she said.
“It also highlights the fact that we can all great writers and we should aspire to be good story writers and that people get a lot of enjoyment from our stories and our books.
“So it gives kids an opportunity to showcase some of their own stories to each other, and also to swap their favourite books.”
The principal said it was also a chance for children to focus on the shortlisted books, which highlight the difference in authors and genres.
“It exposes kids to a wide range of books,” she said.
“Without an actual week where you do that, sometimes it can be lost, so it’s lovely to have a whole week where you just spend time doing that.
“I love books and the more books we can have in our school the better.
“I think reading starts from home and the more you can expose your children to good literature at an early age I think that pays off as they get older and they form a love of learning, and learning to read, and learning from their reading.”