Written by Alex, Year 7
Oxford High’s first ever Reading Cafe was a chance to chat, read and nibble on some snacks! The theme this year was books from around the world. We all had great fun discussing books from France (including Asterix!), Black Lives Matter books (SLAY by Brittney Morris), some traditional Turkish tales, and much more! Mrs Dong also printed a lovely Mandarin poem that we all very much enjoyed sharing and talking about. Parents also brought in a book (or a few!) which meant something to them and we enjoyed hearing about why they were so special. As Library Reps, we helped to set up the library beforehand. We decorated it with international bunting, flags, cleaned the library, and helped to set up the tables with interesting questions and books. You could tell it was French teacher Mr. Couliou who had kindly loaned us decorations – a lot of French flags were available, alongside the others!
But onto what I consider a vital part of any event – the food! In a special exception to the library’s normal rules, food was allowed for one night, for the Reading Cafe. The catering team was absolutely amazing! They provided us with cookies – trust me, you will not find any better chocolatey delights! As well as that there were 3 types of tea, coffee, sparkling water and elderflower pressè as well as gluten free options! Me and Ms McMorrow had great fun serving people drinks and snacks to everyone and you could really see the community spirit come out at OHS. It was a really amazing opportunity to meet people that we hadn’t met before and talk about the best subject – BOOKS! Overall, the night was filled with joy and as a first event it went superbly! It was amazing to see people who did not know each other find they had something in common, a love of books. It definitely motivated people to read, not only books that may have been well known to them but also many other books from other languages and cultures – after all according to an ancient Chinese proverb “A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.”
Written by Mrs Hughes
On Wednesday 22nd January, from 5 to 6pm in the Senior School library, I spent a most enjoyable hour chatting to fellow bibliophiles. Enjoying the tea and biscuits served by Ms McMorrow’s helpful library reps, I found a spare seat at a table already occupied by three parents and one student; we were a mini–United Nations, with representation from Canada, China, France, the US, and Turkey! And united we were, by our shared love of reading, and our shared experience of being bi-cultural. Our conversation ranged from bedtime reading with your child to our own experiences of childhood reading, and from how to choose books for your children to how enjoyable it is to learn about other cultures through reading novels in translation.
The books that we had brought to share made a compelling reading list, from a Chinese graphic novel to a novel set in pre-apartheid South Africa. Pictures were taken of books to be searched for later, and we were treated to the reading of a poem that reminded us all of the bittersweet nostalgia we feel watching our children as they grow up. I would like to thank my tablemates for the thought-provoking discussions and the lovely time!
My table’s book list:
Link Click Vol. 1 by Li Haoling
“In a small shop called Time Photo Studio, two friends provide a special service: using superpowers that let them enter photographs.”
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
“A 1951 children’s book about a family of five American Jewish girls growing up on the Lower East Side of New York City.”
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
“Alan Paton’s impassioned novel about a black man’s country under white man’s law is a work of searing beauty.”
Two Solitudes by Hugh MacLennan
“A story about growing up in between two cultures, two languages, two religions and two traditions in Canada in the first part of the 20th century.”