On October 5, the seventh national final of the Read Aloud competition took place in the Ziedonis Hall of the Latvian National Library. In the competition of reading champions of 19 other regions, the title of Latvian champion was won this year by Grēta Gerda Lepere, a student of Dundaga High School.
This year is very special for the Reading Aloud Championship, because the name “Restart reading” chanted all year finally made sense. “If we want to see a child with a book in their hands, we must let them choose it themselves! If we want them to read with pleasure, we must first provide the opportunity to meet diverse literature and favorable conditions so that they can share what they have read with others,” said Silvija Tretjakova, head of the Children’s Literature Center of the Latvian National Library.
The first step is to choose the right book
The talent of twelve-year-old Greta Gerda was noticed by both the teacher and the children’s subscription librarian of the Dundaga library, Lāsma Lavrenova. “At the end of January, I went to school with a lesson where I told about the project. Greta Gerda was not at school that day, so the teacher had told her individually about this possibility. She came to me at the library and timidly asked if she could participate. I said I don’t see any reason why not. During the conversations with Greta Gerda, we came to the book “Bete and the Flying Birthday Gift” by Lithuanian authors Vitalijas Maksvīte, Marjus Marcinkevičas. Although only a three-minute excerpt must be read on stage in the competition, we agreed that it would be worthwhile to read the whole book. The very next day, Greta Gerda came to me with this book – she had read it! We choose which of the fragments would be the real one essentially. A lot of time and effort has been devoted – we wrote the speech, planned what should be said.
We selected the six best readers from both fifth grades in May, and the jury chose that it was Greta Gerda who should go on to represent Dundag High School at the Tulsa County level at the end of May. In Talso, 12 competitors from all schools of the neighborhood had competed. From the very beginning, it was quite clear that Greta Gerda would go on, because she really stood out from everyone else. This year is the first year that the Kurzeme and Zemgale levels also have to undergo selection. In September, the best readers from Tukum, Saldus, Liepāja, Dundaga and other places gathered in Ventspils, of which only three were nominated for the Latvian championship, which took place on October 5 in Riga. The 19 best of the best readers in Latvia met there, and from small Dundaga we have our own diamond, a pearl,” Lāsma Lavrenova reveals the process up to the grand finale.
Children’s director
Along with the title of reading champion, Greta Gerda also has the responsibility of being the children’s director of the Latvian National Library, whose main task is to get involved in various reading promotion activities. “When a peer is involved, reading takes on a completely different meaning. Children listen to their peers. We are used to having competitions in volleyball, basketball and such events, but reading aloud competitions are completely different when other children listen, record and learn along. The director of the children’s library is the one who inspires, tells his peers why reading is important coolwhat’s exciting about it is the meaning of this title,” says Lāsma Lavrenova.
When Greta Gerda is asked why one should read books, she says that reading books develops the brain. “Reading books gives you a very large vocabulary. And by reading books, you can also travel the whole world. All the events and emotions – it’s different than reading something on the phone. Reading books is a journey and a treasure that cannot be taken away from anyone,” explains the champion of reading. When stepping on the stage of the National Library of Latvia, it was necessary to share knowledge about reading. For Greta Gerda, it was truly something that makes you think and encourages the desire to read: «He who reads books lives thousands of lives. The one who doesn’t read, only one.”
Thorough work is the key to success
Due to several other interests, Greta does not have time to read many books, however, as the girl herself calculates, they are at least five or six a year. Now, after such success, the book chosen for the reading competition is also Greta Gerda’s favorite book, which will surely be remembered forever.
The girl’s Latvian language teacher Evita Zoltāne and mother were also a big help in the preparation process. “The preparation also took place in the evenings after school and other activities. In short, all three of us are crazy about them we suffered (laughs). The best thing is that Greta Gerda heard each of us, listened and took into account all the recommendations, and probably that is why the result is so excellent,» admits Lāsma Lavrenova.
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2024-10-13 06:00:00