Meet Leah, winner of the David Vaisey Young Volunteer Prize 2024, and her mum Jodie, who want to share their experience of Read for Good – from Readathon in school to the hospital bookcase and beyond.

How long have you been a reader?

As long as I can remember. I remember sitting on my nan’s lap and nan reading to me and also mum reading to me when I was little and as I started to grow up I became an avid reader myself. When I first started reading by myself I enjoyed David Walliams and Jacqueline Wilson. I found Jacqueline Wilson to have a good range of books for ages and she also has strong message for the reader that is behind what the book is about. 

I now have 588 books in my bedroom and officially 500 books makes a library, so now I have my own library!! I love going to author events and I help out regularly at my local library, Oakley library in Cheltenham.

What is it that you most love about reading? 

You can take a step away from what is going on and go to so many different places in different situations. Say you want to go to a place but you can’t actually go there, books can allow you to go to that place without actually having to go there. If it’s a good book you can actually imagine you are in that place with the characters. You can take a step away from everything and go into the story.

Who is your favourite author at the moment and why? 

My favourite genres at the moment are Fantasy and Dystopia. 

My current favourites are: The Skandar Series by AF Steadman and Twin Crowns by  Cathryn Doyle and Katherine Webber

Have you got a favourite book? A book that you go back to over and over again?

Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes are my favourite go back to books at the moment. I have read these about six times. 

I also love Benjamin Zephaniah. The book Face by Benjamin Zephaniah, my mum read it when she was at school too and although it’s a tough subject it has a really powerful message. When I read Benjamin Zephaniah’s poetry that’s what got me into poetry and got me started writing my own poems in the same style. 

How did you first come across Read for Good? 

I went to Oakley library and the manager mentioned Read for Good to me. In Year 5/6 I became Gloucestershire Reading Ambassador and we met with Read for Good who gave 50 books to my school (Oakwood Primary in Cheltenham) and helped improve our school library. We also did a local BBC local radio piece in 2021 with Read for Good and Gloucestershire libraries ‘Summer Reading Challenge’. 

Later, when I visited my younger brother Ben who was in hospital from birth with a rare genetic disorder, I came across the Read for Good hospital bookcase and books, so saw the bookcase that the Readathons raise money for. I spent a lot of time visiting my brother in hospital and this is when I started reading a lot. A book was something small and easy and I could take anywhere when going from home, to my nan’s and to the hospital to visit my brother. 

What is the most challenging thing about being in hospital? 

The worst thing is boredom. If you are at your own house you have things of your own to do but if you are lying in bed waiting for doctors or visitors to come, it gets boring really quickly. There isn’t much choice of things to do but the school teachers try to give you a few choices of things to do, but there isn’t lots of choice. It’s good when there are tasks like art or 3D printing which helps give you a break from intense focus compared to if it’s maths or English tasks. Having things to do, when you feel like doing it, makes a difference. 

Jodie (mum) – For Ben (my youngest son who was in hospital for long periods of time as a baby/young child) he had to be isolated in his own room because of his rare genetic condition and couldn’t go into the school room or playroom, so having things to do in his own room in hospital makes such a difference.  As a parent you are stuck at the bedside and you don’t want to miss the doctors coming in so it’s nice as an adult to be given something for your child to do.

When Leah was recently admitted to Gloucester hospital with Optial Neuritus, we experienced the Read for Good/Author’s Aloud event where we saw the author Steve Antony the afternoon she was admitted. Leah was having a really bad day that day and was really down, so for Leah to come into the school room and see an author there was thoroughly enjoyable and perked her up so much that day. It really changed her day and helped her get through the rest of the stay in hospital. 

Leah  – The author event that day really helped. It doesn’t feel as long in hospital if you have had something in the day you are looking forward to, or something you’ve had or that you enjoyed, it doesn’t make the rest of the day feel as long. Steve Antony talked about his books and how he writes them so that was really interesting!

How does reading make you feel when you are in hospital? 

When I’m feeling down, reading picks me up a lot. Especially if there’s been an argument with my mum and dad, or brother and sister etc, if I read, it can give me time to process it. Whilst you’re reading and when you’re done after, you think ‘well maybe that wasn’t as bad’ or ‘I know how to deal with it’. Reading can help give you time to process problems and give you a different mind-set to problems too.

What message would you give to people who donate/support Read for Good to get books, storytellers and authors into hospitals?

Leah – People who donate are changing children’s lives in hospitals. Even if it is just one book, it is changing so many people’s experiences and lives. It can make them more upbeat and if you are upbeat it can make you get better quicker. You feel as if you are recovering more quickly because you are a lot more upbeat and happier. A Read for Good book can pick a kid’s mood up and make so many more kids happier and the hospital experience better. 

Jodie (Mum) – the Read for Good author event when Leah saw Steve Antony gave me time to process things whilst Leah was busy. I thought of questions I hadn’t asked the consultant yet and gave me a bit of headspace without worrying about how Leah was at that moment. It gave me a breather as a parent. We are so grateful for anyone that donates to Read for Good as it’s not just the child it’s helping, it’s helping the parent as well. Having a Read for Good book and a signed illustration from Steve that day helped too when Leah’s siblings arrived later to visit, as Leah was able to say what she had been doing that day that was exciting, not just sat in the hospital bed all day! It felt to her siblings that it was normal Leah as she was still talking to her brother about books!!