Firefighters, soldiers and police officers today took time to read a piece from the picture book Rinus, during the big Reading Picnic in De Nieuwe Kolk in Assen.
“It went really well. It was a nice book and the children were enthusiastic,” says local police officer Jens Stoetman. “They actually hung on my every word, so that was super fun,” says Alice Bouwmeester, volunteer at the fire brigade in Assen.
The Reading Picnic is the kick-off of the National Reading Days. This year, the organization wants to encourage fathers in particular to read more. In the library they mainly see mothers.
“That is very good, of course,” says Marloes van den Berg, organizer of the Voorleespicnic in the Nieuwe Kolk. “But we try to draw attention to the fact that fathers can also read aloud. That is why we also have many male readers, with tough professions such as police officer and soldier. So that the children are like: ‘Oh, dads can read aloud too’.”
Research by the Reading Foundation shows that it is often mothers who read aloud than fathers. That doesn’t apply to the people who were there today. Johan Rijskamp from the volunteer fire brigade in Gasselternijveen reads almost every day. “That’s good for their vocabulary,” he knows. “And you just have a moment together. They snuggle up to you. And that is very beautiful.”
Local police officer Stoetman reads ‘regularly’ and enjoys it immensely. “I really enjoy seeing their enthusiasm during the reading.” And firefighter Bouwmeester says that it is currently her husband who reads most often. “My youngest son really likes it when he does that.”
And most children were actually satisfied with their fathers’ reading skills. “Sometimes Mom reads, and sometimes Dad.” But who can read better? “Daddy,” the children shout in unison.