The Beano and Bunty; Sweet Valley High and Judy Blume; her mother’s stack of Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes’ novels that she raided when she ran out of reading material.
These are just some of the familiar titles and authors that self-confessed bookworm Elaina Ryan remembers devouring from childhood right through to her teenage years.
And as CEO of Children’s Books Ireland, her mission is to inspire and enable children to become readers for life; purely for the fun of it.
“Our vision is ‘every child a reader,’” says Elaina, citing the mission statement of the charity and arts organisation. “We want for every child to have access to brilliant books to read for fun, regardless of what circumstances they are coming from.”
Elaina Ryan, CEO of Children's Books Ireland, pictured at the Business to Arts Awards 2021.
Originally from Wexford, Elaina’s family moved to Waterford when she was 10. Looking back, she recalls how important books were to her during this transition.
“I was a really shy child; and people who know me now find that difficult to believe!” she says. “Because we moved house when I was 10, I was a new child going into fourth class and I was happy to sit by myself and read through lunchtime.”
After school, Elaina did language and cultural studies in Limerick, followed by a masters in publishing at the University of Stirling in Scotland. An internship at New Island books led her to joining Little Island children’s publishers, where she worked her way up from publishing assistant to managing editor, before coming on board with Children’s Books Ireland in 2013.
Reading for fun
The charity promotes reading for fun in many ways; for instance, it organises “book clinics” where “book doctors” will “prescribe” a list of recommended books based on the child’s interests.
It also runs The KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards, supports school libraries through their “book gifting” programmes, and releases an annual reading guide for 0-18-year-olds, as well as themed lists that are free to download from their website and are especially useful for teachers; for instance, in 2021, they published the Free To Be Me guide to books celebrating diversity, representation and inclusion.
Indeed, for World Book Day on 3 March, Children’s Books Ireland has partnered with World Book Day and An Post to distribute 14,000 books to children in direct provision, homelessness, hospital and more marginalised communities.
With no end of reading recommendations, however, we ask Elaina if it is hard for the traditional book to compete with screens and social media today?
“Not even technology; lives are so busy and often kids are so scheduled that you’re competing with everything now,” she responds.
“Forty years ago, even the things that we had to do were go out and play or stay in and read, and it wasn’t so much a culture of you’ve ballet on a Monday and basketball on a Tuesday and GAA on a Wednesday and swimming on a Friday. I think particularly when there are a number of children in the house, families can find themselves on a schedule and it’s amazing we have all these things from scouts to music, they’re all really enriching, but you are competing with them as well as having the phone, as well as having the social media.
“At age nine, about 6% of kids report that they don’t read ever and when that comes up to those teenage years, it rises straight up to about 21% who don’t read ever because there’s so much going on with them.”
Reading has so many benefits beyond the obvious.
“There’s an impact on vocabulary in the early years, on cognitive development, on numeracy,” lists Elaina. “And the one thing that I think is the most interesting is all those benefits will only accrue if you’re having fun.”
Choice is key
She believes that giving children choice about what they want to read themselves is key, and recommends the library as a great resource.
“My kids have always had a library card and they’re only four and six, but they love going in with their library card and picking whatever they want to pick. And sometimes I will hate what they pick – it will be TV spin-offs and stuff that’s too old for them and stuff that’s too young for them – let them at it! You’re trying to build up a habit,” she says.
“So you can step in with your information that you can get from our resources and magazines and go, ‘Oh you really liked that book; why don’t you try this one next?’ You can guide them once you know what they’re after.”
Indeed, at the moment, Elaina is reading the Mr Penguin and Sam Wu series with her daughters Fiadh and Sadhbh; but shares some of her favourite recommendations for our younger Irish Country Living readers here.
“But I do read the odd book for grown-ups too!” she laughs.
Visit www.childrensbooksireland.ie
Elaina recommends: books for farm,
animal and nature loversEoinín
– Muireann Ní Chíobháin agus Róisín Hahessy, 0+
Eoinín has a beautiful new kite. But making it fly is a tricky business! Little ones will love helping Eoinín in this fun, interactive adventure – the author speaks directly to the young reader, encouraging them to help Eoinín, and by the end, they are big friends. Playful and fun, this board book is sturdy enough for the littlest hands but has prompts to follow that will appeal to toddlers and young children.
In The Garden
– Noelle Smit, 4+
See how we work through the seasons to make the plants and flowers grow. We sow seeds in spring, eat berries in summer and pick the apples in the autumn. Gorgeous colour illustrations show, month by month, how the vegetable garden grows.
Clean up!
– Dapo Adeola and Nathan Bryon, 4+
When Rocket goes on holiday to visit her grandparents, she’s shocked by the pollution that’s spoiling their island home and putting the local sea life at risk. Can she think of a way to save the day?
Ó Bhó, na Beacha!
– Pauline Devine, illustrated by Róisín Curé, 5+
Oh no! What will the bees do when their hive is destroyed? And what “rotten villain” is responsible? Mamó and her little companions will have to act quickly or the bees will leave for good!
Animal Crackers
– Sarah Webb and Alan Nolan, 5+
A book of animal facts that will appeal strongly to children, illustrated with black and white animal art/doodles, activities and quiz pages – a highly interactive, fun, informative and affordable book at RRP €11.99.
The Great Irish
Farm Book 
– Darragh McCullough, illustrated by Sally Caulwell
Everything your child needs to know about Irish farms! Did you know that there are almost 2m pigs in Ireland? And that sheep have rectangular pupils, which means they have amazing vision? Would you believe only 10% of the milk produced in Ireland is consumed here? The Great Irish Farm Book will take you on a fascinating journey through life on an Irish farm.
How to Save the World
with a Chicken and an Egg
– Emma Shevah, 8+
Ivy can talk to animals. No one believes her, but she really can. Nathaniel can’t seem to talk to anyone – human or animal – without getting it wrong. Why weren’t people interested in ants that can make themselves explode? Each needs a friend more than they know and each is determined to save the world. Now in a small, English seaside town, a creature is coming that needs their help – will they be able to work together to save it? This is a story that is all about the power that even the youngest, smallest or seemingly disempowered person has to create change.
Run Wild 
– Gill Lewis, 9+
When Izzy and her friends are forced to look for somewhere else to skateboard, the abandoned gasworks they find to practise their skills in turns out to be more than just a derelict site – it’s a vibrant wilderness in the heart of a bustling city, home to a wolf that they adopt as their own. When their fragile sanctuary is threatened by developers, the group must band together to protect it. A dyslexia friendly book published by Barrington Stoke.
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright 
– collected by Fiona Waters, illustrated by Britta Teckentrup, 5-12
In this poetry anthology, Fiona Waters makes a fine selection of animal poems that she connects to the days of the year. It follows her previous book, I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree, an anthology of nature poems. The illustrations by the multiple award-winning artist Britta Teckentrup make this book into something unique.
The Beano and Bunty; Sweet Valley High and Judy Blume; her mother’s stack of Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes’ novels that she raided when she ran out of reading material.
These are just some of the familiar titles and authors that self-confessed bookworm Elaina Ryan remembers devouring from childhood right through to her teenage years.
And as CEO of Children’s Books Ireland, her mission is to inspire and enable children to become readers for life; purely for the fun of it.
“Our vision is ‘every child a reader,’” says Elaina, citing the mission statement of the charity and arts organisation. “We want for every child to have access to brilliant books to read for fun, regardless of what circumstances they are coming from.”
Elaina Ryan, CEO of Children's Books Ireland, pictured at the Business to Arts Awards 2021.
Originally from Wexford, Elaina’s family moved to Waterford when she was 10. Looking back, she recalls how important books were to her during this transition.
“I was a really shy child; and people who know me now find that difficult to believe!” she says. “Because we moved house when I was 10, I was a new child going into fourth class and I was happy to sit by myself and read through lunchtime.”
After school, Elaina did language and cultural studies in Limerick, followed by a masters in publishing at the University of Stirling in Scotland. An internship at New Island books led her to joining Little Island children’s publishers, where she worked her way up from publishing assistant to managing editor, before coming on board with Children’s Books Ireland in 2013.
Reading for fun
The charity promotes reading for fun in many ways; for instance, it organises “book clinics” where “book doctors” will “prescribe” a list of recommended books based on the child’s interests.
It also runs The KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards, supports school libraries through their “book gifting” programmes, and releases an annual reading guide for 0-18-year-olds, as well as themed lists that are free to download from their website and are especially useful for teachers; for instance, in 2021, they published the Free To Be Me guide to books celebrating diversity, representation and inclusion.
Indeed, for World Book Day on 3 March, Children’s Books Ireland has partnered with World Book Day and An Post to distribute 14,000 books to children in direct provision, homelessness, hospital and more marginalised communities.
With no end of reading recommendations, however, we ask Elaina if it is hard for the traditional book to compete with screens and social media today?
“Not even technology; lives are so busy and often kids are so scheduled that you’re competing with everything now,” she responds.
“Forty years ago, even the things that we had to do were go out and play or stay in and read, and it wasn’t so much a culture of you’ve ballet on a Monday and basketball on a Tuesday and GAA on a Wednesday and swimming on a Friday. I think particularly when there are a number of children in the house, families can find themselves on a schedule and it’s amazing we have all these things from scouts to music, they’re all really enriching, but you are competing with them as well as having the phone, as well as having the social media.
“At age nine, about 6% of kids report that they don’t read ever and when that comes up to those teenage years, it rises straight up to about 21% who don’t read ever because there’s so much going on with them.”
Reading has so many benefits beyond the obvious.
“There’s an impact on vocabulary in the early years, on cognitive development, on numeracy,” lists Elaina. “And the one thing that I think is the most interesting is all those benefits will only accrue if you’re having fun.”
Choice is key
She believes that giving children choice about what they want to read themselves is key, and recommends the library as a great resource.
“My kids have always had a library card and they’re only four and six, but they love going in with their library card and picking whatever they want to pick. And sometimes I will hate what they pick – it will be TV spin-offs and stuff that’s too old for them and stuff that’s too young for them – let them at it! You’re trying to build up a habit,” she says.
“So you can step in with your information that you can get from our resources and magazines and go, ‘Oh you really liked that book; why don’t you try this one next?’ You can guide them once you know what they’re after.”
Indeed, at the moment, Elaina is reading the Mr Penguin and Sam Wu series with her daughters Fiadh and Sadhbh; but shares some of her favourite recommendations for our younger Irish Country Living readers here.
“But I do read the odd book for grown-ups too!” she laughs.
Visit www.childrensbooksireland.ie
Elaina recommends: books for farm,
animal and nature loversEoinín
– Muireann Ní Chíobháin agus Róisín Hahessy, 0+
Eoinín has a beautiful new kite. But making it fly is a tricky business! Little ones will love helping Eoinín in this fun, interactive adventure – the author speaks directly to the young reader, encouraging them to help Eoinín, and by the end, they are big friends. Playful and fun, this board book is sturdy enough for the littlest hands but has prompts to follow that will appeal to toddlers and young children.
In The Garden
– Noelle Smit, 4+
See how we work through the seasons to make the plants and flowers grow. We sow seeds in spring, eat berries in summer and pick the apples in the autumn. Gorgeous colour illustrations show, month by month, how the vegetable garden grows.
Clean up!
– Dapo Adeola and Nathan Bryon, 4+
When Rocket goes on holiday to visit her grandparents, she’s shocked by the pollution that’s spoiling their island home and putting the local sea life at risk. Can she think of a way to save the day?
Ó Bhó, na Beacha!
– Pauline Devine, illustrated by Róisín Curé, 5+
Oh no! What will the bees do when their hive is destroyed? And what “rotten villain” is responsible? Mamó and her little companions will have to act quickly or the bees will leave for good!
Animal Crackers
– Sarah Webb and Alan Nolan, 5+
A book of animal facts that will appeal strongly to children, illustrated with black and white animal art/doodles, activities and quiz pages – a highly interactive, fun, informative and affordable book at RRP €11.99.
The Great Irish
Farm Book
– Darragh McCullough, illustrated by Sally Caulwell
Everything your child needs to know about Irish farms! Did you know that there are almost 2m pigs in Ireland? And that sheep have rectangular pupils, which means they have amazing vision? Would you believe only 10% of the milk produced in Ireland is consumed here? The Great Irish Farm Book will take you on a fascinating journey through life on an Irish farm.
How to Save the World
with a Chicken and an Egg
– Emma Shevah, 8+
Ivy can talk to animals. No one believes her, but she really can. Nathaniel can’t seem to talk to anyone – human or animal – without getting it wrong. Why weren’t people interested in ants that can make themselves explode? Each needs a friend more than they know and each is determined to save the world. Now in a small, English seaside town, a creature is coming that needs their help – will they be able to work together to save it? This is a story that is all about the power that even the youngest, smallest or seemingly disempowered person has to create change.
Run Wild
– Gill Lewis, 9+
When Izzy and her friends are forced to look for somewhere else to skateboard, the abandoned gasworks they find to practise their skills in turns out to be more than just a derelict site – it’s a vibrant wilderness in the heart of a bustling city, home to a wolf that they adopt as their own. When their fragile sanctuary is threatened by developers, the group must band together to protect it. A dyslexia friendly book published by Barrington Stoke.
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright
– collected by Fiona Waters, illustrated by Britta Teckentrup, 5-12
In this poetry anthology, Fiona Waters makes a fine selection of animal poems that she connects to the days of the year. It follows her previous book, I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree, an anthology of nature poems. The illustrations by the multiple award-winning artist Britta Teckentrup make this book into something unique.
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