Creative Reading

Learning to read is, of course, essential: children need to be literate.

Learning to read creatively, however, is optional: it’s one of many leisure choices people can make.

As a presenter I begin with an awareness of the numerous entertainment possibilities that compete for audience mind-space – TV, computer games, iPods to name a few – then I ask myself the most important question facing writers today: Why would anyone want to read a book for fun?

I believe the answer - and the enduring strength of books - is discovered in the concept of Creative Reading. Novels are re-imagined every time they are read, and it’s that act of creating new, individualized versions of fictional reality that excites the Creative Reader. No other medium offers the same sense of ‘being there’, not only as observer, but as inventor.

As an author, reading from my own novels, I am uniquely positioned to highlight the wondrous possibilities children can experience every time they open a book. And that is my objective: to foster self-awareness in children of their own imaginative genius.

I engage audiences with as many “what if?” scenarios as possible. I like to surprise them with props and puzzles. I talk about the fantastic visions they can conjure up in ‘stop time’. Mostly I like to have fun exploring alternative pathways and outcomes, and giving young audiences a sense that when they read a story, they are the creative spirits bringing it to life.

If you would like to book me for a visit to your school, please give me a call. I charge $150 for two sessions: a reading for Intermediate grades and an introductory workshop for teachers and parents about making the leap from Creative Reading to Creative StoryBuilding.

For schools outside Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley, but within five hours driving time, I am happy to do tours of at least four readings over two days.

If your Parent Advisory Council would like to use my reading as a fund-raising opportunity, I will be happy to offer a $3 return on every copy of my latest book, Einstein Dog, that is sold through the school. Promotional material and an order form are available online.

More Info
Contact Craig Spence
51-18883 65th Avenue, Surrey, BC, V3S 8Y2 • 778-574-5435 • craig-spence@shaw.ca