As World Book Day is marked today, Kim Dalli catches up with three Maltese personalities who, having been appointed Reading Ambassadors as part of the National Literacy Strategy, help schoolchildren dive headfirst into the enthralling world of books

Claire Agius Ordway, presenter and actress

So far I’ve been assigned to a Kindergarten 2 class. The children were adorable and I had a blast – I was acting out the story for them and they were very involved.

I picked a little boy who was a bit more energetic than the rest and made him my ‘assistant’.

They would try and guess what came next and loved it so much that I re-read the same story three times.

When I was a child my personal favourite was Id-Denfil. I remember the book included a short story called Iż-Żatat and I loved it so much that I knew the whole thing off by heart. I also loved stories about Malta and Maltese legends, such as that of L-Għarusa tal-Mosta.

I have three children of my own aged 12, seven and five. I really believe that parents must lead by example – we all snuggle into bed together and bury our noses in a book.

There is a lot of technology to compete with nowadays such as television, computers and tablets. However, the problem isn’t that children aren’t interested in books, it is rather that we adults do not find the time to sit down and read to them.

Xandru Grech, presenter and former athlete

The response from the schoolchildren so far has been incredible. Once you help the children realise that their imagination is the key which unlocks absolutely everything – from the surreal to the fantastical – you can’t go wrong.

I read out to them an excerpt from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. It explored the relationship between parents and children. It’s like having a bow and an arrow – the parents help launch you but it’s up to you to reach your destination.

When I asked them whether they like reading, I had half of them telling me “yes” and half admitting “no”. But as I was going into the gripping particulars of The Lord of the Rings, I remember one little boy – who had previously said he disliked books – bouncing excitedly on his chair. When I asked him what the matter was, he told me he couldn’t wait to go and scribble down a story of his own.

We often take imagination for granted. As long as there is imagination, there will always be a place for books, regardless of technology.

Parents must allow their children to delve into absolutely whatever interests them – be it cars, giants, mechanics or even comics.

Justin Haber, footballer

I found that the schoolchildren’s interest was piqued as soon as I told them that I am dyslexic. In spite of this, nowadays I can’t go without a reading a book before going to sleep.

Children were very much intrigued to hear how I combine my love of reading with my other passion – sport. In fact, I’m very much into biographies, with one of my favourites being that of footballer Robert Pirès. I also read up a lot on fish, as I need to keep myself up-to-date since my business is connected to aquariums.

I’m honest with the children – when I was a child, I wasn’t particularly into reading because my teachers and parents used to choose my books for me. I think it’s important that children are allowed to read whatever interests them.

I believe that children are still interested in reading. Technology makes things easier – books and magazines may be downloaded with a single tap of the fingertip. I must admit that I love the feel of having an actual book or magazine in my hands though.