I love to sit down and read with my children, it is one of my favourite parts of the day.  It is a time to sit, relax and invariably cuddle up together and share books.  I am passionate about children’s literature and love sharing favourite books and discovering new stories.  Shortly after getting home from school, we will sit and read for homework and then at bedtime, Mr S will read to Little Man, whilst Little Miss and I usually share reading a book.  Little Man has 1:1 literacy help at school and with a recent diagnosis of dyslexia, reading aloud does not give him the joy it gives Little Miss and myself.  However a recent study showed that reading a book aloud to a child is just as valuable to developing their literacy skills and Little Man loves story time with Daddy, they’ve read the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Flat Stanley and Roald Dahl stories.  Little Miss is at a lovely age where we are discovering Harry Potter.  My parents have been purchasing the illustrated collection for us and we are reading and cherishing every page with the beautiful illustrations and wonderful words.  We have also read both volumes of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, the stories and our discussions have been thoughtful and inspiring.  I would like our children to remember a childhood full of stories and cuddles at bedtime and a time when their parents whisked them off to magical worlds, introduced new friends and encouraged their creativity through the very powerful medium of books.