For the sixth part of the Rockstar Readers series, we sat down with Year 7 student Ravsirat Sidhu, who is a voracious reader of YA fiction. Ravsirat is also a hero in the Library as she comes with her friends each lunch time to contribute to a range of clerical tasks. She shared with us about the book that turned her into an avid reader, “It was the Harry Potter series. In Year 4 I used to read Geronimo Stilton books and Mrs Herrmann wanted us to move on, so I decided to give the Harry Potter series a try as I loved the movies. I started reading them and loved them but I guess if Mrs Herrmann hadn’t stopped us from reading books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Geronimo Stilton, I never would’ve loved reading as much as I do now. So thank you, Mrs Herrmann!”
When discussing what books have given to us, Ravsirat articulates that reading, “changed my way of viewing the world. The many different perspectives have helped me empathise with people. Reading has helped me in understanding that there can be more than one way about thinking about something.” Reading has clearly given Ravsirat incredible insight and wisdom to have developed this perspective. She continues, “reading has expanded my imagination and perspective in many ways. It has helped me think about situations in different ways because of the different perspectives that are shown in the third person point-of-view and the multiple perspective point-of-view. Reading has also opened my mind up to many different possibilities I never would have thought about before.”
I have to remind myself that these eloquent words are coming from a Year 7 student; to develop abilities at seeing situations from multiple points-of-view is both noble and valuable. When discussing what reading gives our lives that nothing else can, Ravsirat explains that reading gives her “a sense of excitement, during activities like sport and art, you have your mind set on something and you know what you're going to do but during reading you never know what to expect: one word could make a huge impact on the story. One minute the main protagonist is calmly reading a book, the next minute their life is in extreme peril.”
Our conversation turns to the characters that have most captivated us, “I loved the character of Cricket, in the Wings of Fire series,” Ravsirat answers, “even though she always asks lots of questions, her character has multiple qualities which makes her likeable and I think many people would find her relatable due to this. Cricket loves reading which many people also do, along with that she wants to be a scientist and discover new things, which people who love science, would definitely find relatable. Cricket's personality is just so loveable and her never-ending questions are a treat to read! She is definitely one of my top five book in characters in the series.
So what advice does Ravsirat give, to the budding readers at Hume Anglican Grammar? “Read something you enjoy, something you like. Don't just read something friends or family tell you to, read something that intrigues you. If you read something that you find boring, you will probably end up finding reading boring which, if reading the right book, is definitely not boring.” We at the Library wholeheartedly agree! And what books should they watch out for? For budding readers, “I would recommend the Geronimo Stilton series; they intrigued me a lot when I was a little younger. For readers who are a bit past that I would recommend the Wings of Fire series.”
It is clear from Ravsirat’s answers that she is thriving on her learning journey; her keen enthusiasm for literature and empathy to understand multiple perspectives will ensure that she makes a great positive impact in the world.
Siana Einfeld - Teacher Librarian
