Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible.’

-Barack Obama

Reading as a hobby is much underrated both by parents and children today. Apart from offering

a good way of passing time, books offer pleasure and knowledge together. Children can explore

the dream world of fantasy through books. To enable the students, develop their interest in

reading and to help them enrich their vocabulary, JKPS recently celebrated ‘26th National

Reading Day’ on 19 June 2021 and the reading month from19 June 2021 to 18 July 2021. This

was an initiative to encourage the learners to express their ideas creatively and coherently. It was

a part of the literary event to honour the father of the Library Movement, the late P.N. Panicker.

The students of Class IV recited a poem on the famous character ‘Red Riding Hood’.The young

poets enthralled the audience with their articulation and memory skills while reciting poems. It

was a splendid opportunity for them to gain confidence through stage exposure.

The students of Class V celebrated the day by writing a review on the book ‘Little Women’ by

Louisa May Alcott, with great gusto and zeal.

Students of Class VI read the book ‘Treasure Island’ by R L Stevenson and wrote a character

sketch of their favourite character from the story. They also drew beautiful pictures of their

favourite characters.

Students of Class VII read the book ‘Panchatantra’ by Pandit Vishnu Sharma. After enjoying

reading the book they chose their favourite character from the story, drew pictures, and described

the character’s personality traits, actions, thoughts, feelings, problems, challenges, and

accomplishments. Children also narrated the Panchatantra Tales in a fun-filled manner and learnt

These stories helped them in learning how to handle real-life situations effectively about human

A book review serves the purpose of helping others to decide if they should or want to read a

particular book or not. Students of Class VIII read the book ‘A Room on the Roof’ by Ruskin

Bond and wrote a book review for the same. They also drew some beautiful pictures related to

the story.

After reading the novel, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, the students of class IX presented their favourite

character. They portrayed their characters by typifying their actions, words, and thoughts. All of

them enacted gracefully using various props. Some of them dressed up like the character they

were presenting.