1. The green passport was the first one in the series. Indeed, when I wrote it I thought it would be the only one but then when my youngest son, who was about 10 at the time, completed it I could see that he would need a new one and that it would have to be different. The pictures shown here are from his passport, one of my proudest possessions.
2. It is suitable for both primary and secondary schools. The passport can be used as soon as the young person has handwriting that is sufficiently controlled for them to be able to write 4 or 5 lines of text in response to each prompt.
3. The passport is designed to be completed quickly once the book has been read. I didn’t want the writing requirement to become a chore. However, if someone is going to spend around 6 or 7 hours reading a book, I think it is worthwhile encouraging them to spend around 10 minutes collecting their thoughts on it together in a brief entry.
4. The entries can, indeed should, be read and endorsed by a teacher or librarian using the Rooted in Reading Stamp. Everyone loves getting their passport stamped and it is a great way to show that you have engaged with what the young person has written. The stamps are available using the hyperlink or the order form linked below.
5. They are great value. At just £20 for 50 you can equip a year group or a whole school at very little cost. We spend nothing on publicity.
6. The passport encourages reading resilience. In order to complete it, a young reader will have to read at least 24 books. And the passport encourages young people to read more – see the research report here.
7. The pages, as in all the passports, can be completed in any order. This means that young readers are not forced to read anything specifically to meet the requirements of the passport until they are nearing the end.
8. The page headings encourage reading variety. Fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, books linked with tv and films, magazines, historical books, reading on screen, books from other cultures and plays and poems are all required, gently encouraging young people to extend their reading repertoire.
9. The last page is for Extras and here readers can collect stamps from other libraries or signatures of any authors they are lucky enough to meet, thus encouraging engagement with the wider world of books and reading.
10. We have produced a lovely green badge that schools can purchase and award to anyone who completes their green passport. These and the passports and Rooted in Reading bookmarks can all be ordered using the order form you can find here. The badge can be ordered directly here, and the green passport here.
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