Sir Lenny shares his books with hundreds of Oldham schoolchildren

Oldham children from Northmoor, Richmond, Greenhill, Alt and Westwood academies attended a very special event led by Sir Lenny Henry at Northmoor Academy.

Over 800 Harmony Trust pupils joined the event online in their classrooms.

Organised in conjunction with local booksellers, Madeleine Lindley, as part of The Harmony Trust’s ‘Read, Achieve, Succeed’ strategy, Sir Lenny came and spoke to the children about reading, writing and his journey to becoming an author.

He went on to read excerpts from his book ‘The Boy With Wings.’

Sir Lenny told the children how reading was his best friend when he was a child growing up in Dudley and he credited his Auntie Pearl with opening up the world of reading to him by taking him to the local library.

The children were able to ask Sir Lenny about his writing process (which involved lots of Jammie Dodgers), Comic Relief, his books and his heritage.

They even created a story with him about a boy named Joe who lives underwater and has special, superhero powers.

Jessica Hainsworth, Director of Education for The Harmony Trust, and co-founder of the ‘Read, Achieve, Succeed’ strategy, said: “The children had a fantastic time at the session and listening to Sir Lenny Henry’s description of his relationship with reading and writing has inspired our children to want to write more.

"Diversity really does matter in children’s literature, and it was wonderful to bring Sir Lenny’s experience and stories to our children, who absolutely loved hearing about Tunde’s adventures.”

The children agreed, with pupils from Greenhill Academy commenting:

Reem: “I like how Lenny's stories are set in a school, we could relate to this.”

Musa: “I liked that we found out what inspired Lenny to write his books.”

Madeeha: “I liked him as he was very funny.”

Rachelle Carter, from Madeleine Lindley, added: “We were delighted to work with The Harmony Trust to bring another author to visit the children, especially one as inspirational as Sir Lenny Henry.

"We know that visiting authors add another dimension to reading for children and they can inspire children to look at literature in a different way.”

The Harmony Trust is a multi-academy and school-led organisation based in Oldham, Tameside and Derby.

The Trust was set up in February 2014 with its core aim being to raise attainment in local schools.

The Trust has the highest aspirations for its pupils, parents and staff members.

They work hard to ensure that every child achieves.

Madeleine Lindley sells children’s books and teacher resources to schools in and around Greater Manchester from their centre in Chadderton.

Madeleine Lindley Book Centre has become an authority to the thousands of teachers who trusted them for recommendations from the 8,000 children’s books published every year.

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