Young Star readers moved by tale of woman who wrote Christmas card to burglar

Pupils at Woodseats Primary School who are taking part in The Star's Reader Passport challenge picked the heartwarming tale as their favourite from the paper's pages.

Ekinsu Ibishukcu, Khalid Edwards and Daisy Deakin, all aged 10, gave their views on the project, which is helping children across the city boost their literacy while gaining an insight into the newspaper industry.

Ekinsu and Khalid both enjoyed reading how a grandmother had hugged the burglar who broke into her home and written him a Christmas card, after he apologised in person for his actions.

Ekinsu said: "That was my favourite story. It draws me in because it's like a question to which I want to know the answer."

Khalid said: "Mine was the same because you wouldn't really do that and I really wanted to read it."

Pupils at Woodseats have been reading copies of The Star and completing tasks inspired by what they have found, including creating an advert for their school like the adverts within the paper.

Daisy said she had enjoyed learning more about the mechanics of newspapers and how adverts sustain businesses such as The Star.

"We've looked through and seen the adverts and seen why they're put in there and how it works and makes money," she said.

All three said they had not paid much attention to local news in the past but now appreciated the importance of papers like The Star.

Khalid said: "It gives us a warning and makes us aware if there's something bad around us or good around us, like if there's a very nice restaurant it would be good to check it out."

Daisy said: "I think it's important because it makes you aware of things happening around you. If there's something that's dangerous to do you're aware and know what to do about it."

Ekinsu agreed, adding that newspapers were different to the fiction books they usually read because they 'give you facts' rather than just 'telling stories'.

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