Of Robbers, Tomcats And Little Bears: Bertelsmann Employees Read To Children in Gütersloh and Munich
"They’re here, they’re here!" Bertelsmann employees Christiane Niehoff, Christiane Munsberg, Marc Puskaric and Michael Hundehege were greeted with loud shouts of glee on Friday morning at the kindergarten on Englische Straße in Gütersloh. "And do you know why we’re here?," Christiane Niehoff asked the children. "Sure we do!" came the prompt reply. "You want to read to us!" On Friday, 26 Corporate Center employees visited twelve kindergartens in Gütersloh, in response to a call by Gunter Thielen to participate in Operation "Große für Kleine" (Big Guys for Little Guys), a campaign to promote reading out loud – during working hours. The day was a nationwide campaign initiated by the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit" and the Stiftung Lesen reading foundation. Volunteers all over
"I really enjoy reading out loud and used to read to my son a lot while he was growing up," said Christiane Niehoff, explaining why she immediately responded to the CEO’s appeal for volunteers. She had brought the "Rainbow" group children two stories from the Astrid Lindgren classic "Die Kinder aus the Krachmacherstraße" (The Children on Troublemaker Street). The thirteen kids, all of them between three and four years old, were immediately enthusiastic about her choice –Astrid Lindgren being a familiar name in those circles. Christiane Munsberg had chosen the story of Robber Hotzenplotz from the Club’s anthology "Von Yogakatzen und Bücherfressern" (Of Yoga Cats and Book Eaters) and had prepared carefully for her story hour. She brought along a treasure chest full of gummy bears, along with robbers’ hats, which were immensely popular with the kids. "Reinhard Mohn speaks out for the responsibility each one of us has to society. For me as an employee, it’s the most natural thing in the world to make my own small contribution in this way," she said, explaining her participation.
Her colleague Marc Puskaric thought up his own little surprise for the kindergarten kids. In addition to the book he planned to read, "Eine Geburtstagstorte für die Katze" (A Birthday Cake for the Cat), the company lawyer had brought a fat legal tome along for his little listeners. "Which one would you rather hear me read from?," he asked them. And of course the children chose crotchety old Pettersson and his comical cat Findus.
"I asked the children how many of their parents or grandparents read out loud to them in the evening and was amazed how few of them raised their hand," reported Michael Hundehege following his story hour, observing a phenomenon that has been known to the reading foundation for some time now. According to the Federal Office of Statistics, two of three parents no longer read to their children regularly. One more reason for the foundation to promote the culture of reading out loud through campaigns like "Große für Kleine." "I feel that reading out loud is one of the most beautiful moments in a parent-child relationship. It’s the only way that children will learn to love books and fuel their imagination," as Christiane Niehoff succinctly put it.
That afternoon, reading was the name of the game at the Villa Kunterbunt as well, where Gerda Kaufmann, Susanne Erdl and Stephan Scheller came to read out loud. "Next to the many other media, I still see books as an anchor for culture and education," declared Stefan Scheller, who got comfortable in the story corner with a Janosch book. His colleague Gerda Kaufmann actually had stage fright as she sat down amidst the eagerly waiting children: "My children are grown up and I haven’t read to anyone for a good 15 years," she explained. Her program featured comical trolls from the book "Elfenland und Zauberreich" (Land of Elves and Realm of Magic).
At the end of their respective story hour, the over 750 children at the twelve kindergartens were given a book of their own to take home – a copy of the one introduced to them during their story hour. The 250 copies of "Von Yogakatzen und Bücherfressern" were donated by the Club. The children at the kindergarten on Englische Straße sent their readers home with a real compliment. Asked what they liked best about the story hour, they unanimously replied: "None of it! It was all great!" So at least the message of Operation "Große für Kleine" reached the children in Gütersloh’s kindergartens: Having a story read to you is a great thing.
