To help celebrate the start of the 2023 Summer Reading Challenge, Ready Set Read, we are delighted to welcome Robin Bennett to the blog to discuss his own relationship with books, libraries, reading and sports.  Robin is the author of the wickedly witty Stupendous Sports series filled with fantastic facts  published by Firefly Press. 

I once went on a mini pilgrimage to Hull University – to the library, to be precise … or to the librarian, to be preciser.

‘I really like your work, Mr Larkin.’ I said – a little more formally than intended – all at once hoping I was addressing the poet himself and not some other tallish man in glasses.

He peered at me owlishly for a few moments then said, ‘Thank you … shhhh.’

As meeting your heroes goes, this is not quite as exciting as the time Alexi Sayle and I stopped a woman being attacked in a phone box in Soho but, still, I’m very fond of the library encounter. Not least because his reaction was completely in character, but also because it marked a time in my life when I finally started to fall in love with reading.

When I was younger, I had stoutly resisted all overtures to get me to pick up a book. This had mainly consisted of well-meaning relatives shoving copies of The Borrowers or Hornblower under my nose and saying things along the lines of, ‘try this, Robin, it’s really good.’

Nothing wrong with that approach but, between the ages of nought and eleven I couldn’t sit still, so the thought of sitting still AND reading for more than a few minutes was torture for me. I had nothing against being indoors, but I found that if I was outside, I was much less likely to get shouted at for being annoying, so outside it was.

This meant sport was my thing, long before reading.

When reading did take hold – a combination of moving to France, being friendless and French TV, which sucked in the 80’s – I was disappointed to discover that there was very little out there to read on sport. As in really read, not just dip into for tips and stats. So, I moved on to more literary sorts of literature, which is how I found myself standing about awkwardly in Hull Uni library a few years later.

Taking all this into consideration, when I grew up and became a writer, one of my goals, alongside finding a career that kept me out of trouble and (hopefully) not starving in a ditch, was to write books for children who don’t necessarily like reading.

Funny helps, as does short, as does illustrated. What is also effective are books that tell kids about other things they also like doing – and might even help them do it better. This is why I wanted to write the Stupendous Sports and why I’m so grateful to Firefly Press for making it possible – and to Matt Cherry for illustrating the books in the spirit they were intended.

We all know that in fiction children want to see a version of themselves and this is also very much the case with non-fiction.

The Summer Reading Challenge and the decision to make it about sports and activities this year is inspired: summer holidays and being outside – reading or running after a ball – go hand in hand. And sporty kids rise to a challenge.

Well, not just the kids, because I fully intend to get involved. For the launch of Cracking Cricket in August, I’m climbing up a mountain in the Pyrenees so I can hopefully bowl a ball in Spain, so someone can hit it in France and catch it in Andorra.

          This summer there’s a lot to look forward to!

So happy reading and happy playing.

A big thank you to Robin Bennett for the blog and to Graeme Williams for the opportunity.