See Myself in Books Festival

Every child deserves to see themselves in the stories they read. This is the driver behind Read Manchester’s See Myself in Books campaign, which aims to introduce children to a range of diverse authors and books which reflect their own cultures, identities and experiences.

This year’s See Myself in Books Festival took place in March with thirteen authors entertaining pupils in schools and libraries across the city.  Over three thousand children from forty-two primary and high schools participated, with 350 pupils visiting Stoller Hall for our flagship event.

At Stoller Hall, pupils were delighted to meet Humza Arshad who emceed the event and kept the excitement high when talking about the antics of his family and how they inspired some of the characters in his books.  Nadia Shireen, author of the brilliant Grimwood series, invited children to draw-along with her, and Ashley Thorpe’s message about children being the hero in their own stories really resonated with the audience.

‘If children don’t see themselves at the centre of a story, as heroes and main characters, then they grow up believing their stories aren’t worthy or that people like them can’t be heroes too. But equally important is that children of any majority – whether that be ethnic, able-bodied, heterosexual, neurotypical – see a reflection of wider society and develop an understanding of, and respect for, everyone they share this earth with’. (Ashley Thorpe)

Research by the National Literacy Trust shows that having access to diverse books could help provide a boost to reading enjoyment, with almost 1 in 3 (31.5%) children and young people saying that having books that represent them would make them want to read more, but over half of children (53.1%) saying they experience difficulties finding books with characters or people like them.

One teacher said this about the festival:

‘It was “a truly memorable experience that we will cherish forever,” and one that has reinforced just how vital diverse stories and voices are in helping young people feel seen, celebrated, and empowered’.

The festival took place over two weeks and as well as our amazing Stoller Hall event authors visited libraries and schools across Manchester.

“I really enjoyed having the chance to think about what ‘home’ means to me- especially because I left my home country when I was younger, so it was nice to be able to think about special memories and people that make me happy.”  (Year 10 pupil)

“Hearing Danielle [Jawando] talk about seeing yourself in stories made me realise my own experiences are important too.” (Year 9 pupil)

One class Teacher told us:
‘Children who are usually quieter were more willing to share their ideas, and many spoke about how they “finally felt represented” and “could see themselves in books.” The event sparked conversations about identity, culture, and pride, with pupils expressing that it made them feel “proud of who they are” and more comfortable celebrating their backgrounds. This was also reflected in their work afterwards, where all children began creating characters and stories that better represented themselves and their communities. The universal nature of this impact is what made the event so powerful — it wasn’t just one child who benefited, but every pupil who left feeling seen, inspired, and more confident in their own identity’.

‘I hope to be a writer like Humza one day’ (Year 5 pupil)

You can see Humza’s joy-filled visit above. Every child had created a welcome poster for Humza and read one of the Little Badman books.

Alongside the festival, Read Manchester has curated two unique sets of ‘See Myself in Books’ collections.  The primary school book collections comprise 25 books portraying ethnic diversity and 25 books representing neurodiversity with accompanying teaching resources.  These collections have been gifted to more than 50 primary schools to date and all of the titles are available to borrow from Manchester Libraries.

Thank you to our amazing festival authors and illustrators who made the festival so special:

Finally, Rashmi Sirdeshpande tells us why she thinks See Myself in Books is so important:

We would also like to thank Manchester Libraries Trust and the businesses who have supported See Myself in Books this year: J Hopkins, NSL, Kiely Bros Ltd and Ventbrook.