the bitchen' blog. literally.

Art of Reading: 'The Scoop On Books!
ZEENEESHRI RAMADASS
New Sunday Times, March 5

LIKE all good habits, the love for reading is best instilled in children at an early age. But getting children to read books is no mean feat when television and computer games compete for interest.

In their bid to inculcate the reading habit among preschoolers, undergraduates from the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) recently organised The Scoop On Books! campaign.

Along with celebrities Ashraf Sinclair, Adibah Noor and Cheryl Samad, the campaign starts this month with a reading session at selected kindergartens, namely, Smart Reader Kids centres, Seri Manja Saleha and Judith Childcare Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

"We must lay the foundation to cultivate reading habits from young so that children will become passionate about reading," says campaign patron Datin Radziah Mohd Daud, who is also president of National Association of Early Childhood Care and Education.

"Reading a book provides an avenue for healthy adult-child interaction. Discussing what the child likes or dislikes about the illustrations is an intelligent way to generate conversation about its plot, and this can enhance their creativity and ability in expressing themselves."

Also involved in the campaign is children’s book author Rebecca Duckett-Wilkinson. Her book Natu the Chichak will be read to the children during the campaign.

Apart from the reading sessions, the campaign also aims to collect a minimum of RM10,000 for the Assistance to Blind Children, under the guidance of the Malaysian Association for the Blind.

"A drawing competition will be held after the reading sessions. The winning designs will be printed onto cards, which will then be sold at RM10 per booklet. Proceeds will go to the association for the blind," says project director Audra Kesumati Ruslani.

"Rebecca has also agreed to donate 30 per cent of the net sales from her books, sold through us, to the fund. There will also be the traditional box donation in campus."

On April 2, the campaign will host a Sundae Party for the children of the participating kindergartens and the association for the blind.

To be held at Galeriizu, Kuala Lumpur, the party will feature a final reading session by Duckett-Wilkinson.