We believe great books build the imagination. The more we read aloud expressively, and the more children are able to savour, discuss and reinterpret literature, the more memorable the characters, places and events become, building an inner world. “A child who is read to will have an inner kingdom of unicorns, talking spiders and a knife that cuts into other worlds.” (Pie Corbett).

At Poplars, we have a reading and poetry spine of core books so throughout each child’s journey through the school they build a bank of knowledge from a range of quality, carefully chosen books. It is central to our school, but is also complimented with many other books. Each book develops the imagination and equips the reader with language. Great stories also build our language because around 75 per cent of our vocabulary comes from our reading. Reading develops the ability to think in the abstract; to follow lines of thought.