Meet Reading Heroes volunteer Fiona: ‘It’s been a lovely experience to read with him every week – an absolute joy! He’s just brilliant’ 

Fiona Hall works at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot and volunteers with national Liverpool-based charity The Reader, as part of the Reading Heroes project which involves reading stories with care experienced children aged two to 15. She shares her experience of reading with a six-year-old boy who is in kinship care with his grandmother: 

“Before moving to Liverpool I knew I wanted to do some volunteering on my day off. When my partner sent me a link to an appeal for Reading Heroes volunteers, it seemed like the perfect fit. 

Research tells us that fewer boys than girls say they enjoy reading – and this is one of the reasons why I wanted to become a volunteer. My son, who is now in his twenties, never wanted to read a book by himself. He struggled so much reading the words that he lost the joy of the actual story, so I used to read to him all the time. 

The staff in The Reader’s Reading Heroes team are just really enthusiastic and supportive.  

I met other volunteers on an online training session, and we were all invited to say why we wanted to do the training. It’s ironic, but it’s difficult to put into words how passionate I feel about reading, and sharing stories, so it was lovely, and quite emotional hearing the other volunteers summing up their reasons for getting involved and what reading means to them. 

I definitely felt like I had found my tribe. 

As an only child of older parents, I spent a lot of time reading and I loved it. At its most unromantic level, reading is a fantastic way of quietly killing time. But immersing yourself in the story and the characters can take you away into another world or help add perspective to your own situation. And you are developing vocabulary and knowledge without even realising it. Reading stories for pleasure is a fantastic skill to have. You can use your imagination to jump into a book and go anywhere. 

My favourite author is Thomas Hardy but I’ll read anything. I was in a book group for 16 years, where I used to live, and that ‘forced’ me to read books and genres I wouldn’t normally have picked for myself. But that was the joy of it – being receptive to lots of new stories. 

After the Reading Heroes team said they had found a child for me to read with, we had a really supportive first meeting with the little boy and his grandmother. I started reading in person last September. 

We meet on a Friday after a week of school, and he must be exhausted, but you can tell he is really listening and is still engaged. Sometimes he is a little distracted to start with and I’ll ask him, ‘Shall we not do this?’ and he says ‘No, no let’s!’  

I tend to read for 25 minutes and then we chat about the story. It’s been a lovely experience to read with him every week – an absolute joy! He is just brilliant. 

He loves cars and dogs and particularly enjoys any stories involving these. He is not frightened of being silly, sometimes we replace the character’s name with his, and I actively encourage us having ridiculous talks sparked by the stories we are reading or acting out some of his favourite bits. 

We read lots of picture stories. Some of the ones we like include Jez Alborough’s Tall, The Detective Dog by Julia Donaldson, Arthur’s Dream Boat by Polly Dunbar and I Am A Story by author-illustrator Dan Yaccarino.  

I love this amazing wordless picture book called Journey by Aaron Becker as you really have to pay attention. The illustrations are fabulously detailed, and the book perfectly demonstrates how you can absolutely be master of your own destiny. It’s got a nice little twist at the end too. I’d highly recommend it to share with any child who may not be particularly keen on words, but who loves a story. 

I know which is his favourite – Cars, Cars, Cars!: Find your Favourite (50 to Follow and Count). We’ve agreed to ration ourselves to reading it every other week. 

It is an important commitment as a child relies on you – you cannot let them down. His Nan says he loves me coming to read with him; and I’ve rediscovered the joy of reading aloud. We’re nearing the end of our 26 sessions, and it will be very tough to say goodbye, but I really hope I’ve added a little life skill to his bag of tricks.  

Maybe in 10 years' time, he’ll spot me in the supermarket and say: ‘You’re the person who used to read with me!’ and tell me that perhaps it helped him. I’d tell him what a pleasure it was.” 

Reading Heroes first launched in 2016. Children are paired with highly trained volunteers and read online one-to-one for six to nine months. The work is overseen by an experienced project team who train and support volunteers to deliver lively and engaging sessions.

For further information about how to become a Reading Heroes volunteer visit here. 

As a charity we rely on the generous support of individuals and organisations to help us change lives through Shared Reading. A donation allows us to train volunteers, provide resources for groups and help reach more people. We want to make sure everyone can attend a Shared Reading group, no matter their background, income or situation, and we'll be so grateful for your help. Make a donation.