Reader Interview #6: Carolyn Tonkin believes reading needs to be fun!

Carolyn Tonkin is an amazing woman of faith I've had the priviledge to meet through Omega Writers, Australia's Christian Writers' Network. She is the current president of that organisation and has a heart for encouraging Aussie Christian writers. She's a writer herself, and is writing a Christian historical fiction series called The Mark of the Spirit, the second book in the series will launch in time for Christmas (a perfect gift for historical fiction lovers)! 
I loved hearing from Carolyn about the way she engages with children's books, especially her advice about what to do if you aren't enjoying what you are reading - brilliant!

​Penny: Tell me a little about yourself and how you use books in your relationships with children. Carolyn: As an avid reader from childhood, I used books as a tool to share with friends and colleagues. Whether they were for gaining knowledge at school and university or just to relax and enjoy a great story, I loved being able to discuss the books I had read with others and encourage them to do the same. Once I became a primary school teacher I was in my element, beginning the literacy session each morning with a 'Big Book' to the Juniors, or reading a chapter of a novel to my senior classes to calm them down at the end of the day.

Penny: What are some of your favourite books to share with your children and why?  
Carolyn: My own children, all girls, grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, so books like Mem Fox’s Possum Magic, Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit series in a box set, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, and later the Roald Dahl classics like Matilda, The Twits, and The BFG. Not to forget the hilarious children’s book by Craig Smith, The Wonkey Donkey which our grandsons now split their sides over, whenever I read it to them. Reading is fun and I believe the most important thing about reading is to enjoy it. If you’re not enjoying a book, find a new one!

"Reading is fun and I believe the most important thing about reading is to enjoy it. If you’re not enjoying a book, find a new one!"
​- Carolyn Tonkin.

Carolyn Tonkin

​Penny: Have there been any special moments when sharing a book with a child has helped them, or you, grow, learn or understand something important?  
Carolyn: I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a great book to teach children the concept of change through slow transformation. My husband was a science teacher, so he took the opportunity to introduce terms such as 'pupa’ or ‘chrysalis’ to our children and tell them about life cycles of other creatures, whilst I focused on God as the creator who could not only change insects from the inside out but could transform people too. 

Penny: If you were to ask one of the young people in your life which book they love the most, what would it be and why do you think they love it so much?  
Carolyn: Ooh, that’s a hard one, because life changes and in my experience seasons with authors and books come and go. My four-year-old grandson is currently obsessed with books about sharks. Last year it was dinosaurs. Whilst his two-year-old brother picks up the same Bluey book every time we visit. Why? The older one loves knowledge and he’ll happily tell me how many rows of teeth a great white shark has, or that the Mako shark is one of the fastest swimmers against the other sharks, but the whale shark is the biggest shark of all. Can you tell he loves to share facts with me? But the two-year-old is interested in the different characters in the Bluey books and will listen intently as he sits on my knee while I read the story with as much animation as I can muster. My goal is to make him laugh, but more importantly, I think he enjoys the closeness with me, and books are a beautiful way to share relationship.

For more information about Carolyn visit: www.carolyntonkin.com

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