Last week, the Dunedin City Library hosted a kōrero with Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador, Ben Brown. Anna Brunt, Orla Jackson, Melitiana White, Anna Telfer-Chiles, Lily Schaumann and I all jumped at the chance to listen to someone who loved stories as much as us.

The kōrero was informal, as Ben sat down on the couch next to Kate De Goldi, who is a well known New Zealand short story writer and novelist. Ben initially talked about how he was heavily inspired by the American author Mark Twain, as he was the author of the first books he read as a child. Ben also talked about how his father inspired him to read more, and how he was constantly telling him to read books in his own time or reading stories to him. He explained that he believed every parent should be reading their children books until they’re capable of reading themselves. When Ben’s daughter was born, he would read stories to her every night, and now she works in a library herself in Wellington.

Ben thought that every school should have a library, and found it absurd that some schools only relied on technology over books. When needing information, he believed that people’s first instinct should be to find a book on the topic, rather than googling, as books have been here far longer than technology has, and that we can trust books more than devices.

The kōrero was very inspiring and we all enjoyed listening to him. When he finished, we asked if we could get a photo with him and he was very enthusiastic. We really enjoyed this experience and opportunity to listen to someone who values reading and storytelling.

Amelia Phipps-Green, Year 10.