QUEST FOR LEARNING - Key Persons
Ally joined Quest for Learning to assist the teaching team in coordinating their programmes within schools.
As Communications Manager, Amanda is responsible for Quest for Learning's marketing activities - including social media, press relations and events. She also handles the administration the charity's continuous professional development programme for primary school teachers. After graduating, she worked for many years in PR and as a copywriter. She is a qualified adult education tutor and has previously volunteered in Functional Skills classes. For nine years, Amanda ran the TeaBooks project in Oxfordshire, organising book groups for older people in residential and community settings. She believes that reading, and sharing the joys of reading, brings pleasure at any age.
Since completing his teacher training at Westminster College (now Oxford Brookes University) Andrew has been a class teacher in Oxfordshire from 1987 until 2010.
For the last eight years he has worked both as a Numbers Count teacher and a Year 6 support teacher in two primary schools within the county. Throughout his career he has been aware that at some point most children need that extra input to develop confidence, thinking skills and strategies. He regularly uses maths games in all of his teaching sessions as children of all ages and all abilities learn well when actively engaged.
His hobbies include singing and golf both of which have a unique link with maths which he loves to integrate into his everyday life.
Anna grew up in Oxford and took part in ReadingQuest as a child, enabling her to really enjoy reading for the very first time. As a result, Anna knows first-hand the importance of Quest for Learning's work and the impact it can have on a child's development and life chances.
She works as a PRINCE2 qualified project manager in the charity sector.
Her expertise is in project management, fundraising, events management and community organising. Anna holds a degree from Durham University and is interested in supporting children and young people to achieve their full potential.
Anna completed her teacher training after a degree in English and Drama and has taught across all ages in primary schools, the majority of her work having been in inner London and Oxfordshire.
During this time she has looked for and introduced effective ways of teaching literacy, such a vital key to learning. She loves helping to motivate children to read, building confidence and skills, making learning fun and has used storytelling and drama across the curriculum. She is excited to join the Quest for Learning team and combines this with writing.
Job Titles:
- Fundraising Co - Ordinator
Thanks to the support and encouragement of childhood educators Annabelle developed a passion for reading and learning that ultimately led her to realise her dream of a becoming a scientific researcher and gaining doctorate.
Since then, Annabelle has worked for both a national medical research charity and a communications agency to support hundreds of scientists and healthcare professionals realise their own goals. She is excited to now have the chance to ‘pay it forward' with Quest for Learning and ensure that today's young people have the same opportunities to maximise their own life chances as she did.
Outside of work, Annabelle is a keen photographer, vegan baker and gardener - but reading is still her first love! She is a regular library user and established a virtual book club at the start of the pandemic to maintain social connectivity. The club continues to go from strength-to-strength, though now joyfully meeting in person over a cuppa.
As Fundraising Co-ordinator, Annabelle is excited to help ensure that today's young people have the same opportunities to maximise their own life chances as she did.
Becky graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2008 and has since taught across all year groups with the majority of her teaching experience at Key Stage 2. Becky completed the National SENCo Qualification in 2011.
Working as a SENCo in several settings, Becky has had the privilege of supporting children with a whole range of special educational needs to develop their self-esteem as well as their academic understanding.
Job Titles:
- Legal Director at Blake Morgan
Ben is Legal Director at Blake Morgan solicitors, where he heads up the firm's charities team. He brings his professional experience and past Trustee experience at Cancer Support UK to the Board.
Ben has extensive experience assisting charities navigate governance, constitutional, regulatory and associated commercial matters in the context of developing charity and company legislation and in the face of the increasingly tight regulation.
Ben is a Legal Director at Blake Morgan solicitors, where he heads up the firm's charities team.
Catherine completed a PGCE at Westminster College (now Oxford Brookes) and has taught across the primary age range in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Outer London.
As both a class teacher and one to one tutor she has seen the benefits of using real books to inspire children's interest and learning across the curriculum. She is excited about sharing fantastic books and activities with the children participating in the BookQuest programme.
As well as being a BookQuest tutor, Catherine works in Museum Education and undertakes freelance educational writing.
Chris Jarvis is one of the Education Officers at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Having spent his formative years in Nigeria where he grew up surrounded by wildlife and kept snakes, owls, bushbabies, bushpig and other animals as pets, he has been a keen amateur naturalist all his life. During his early teens he kept a room full of frogs that he collected on trips to different countries and stuffed his bookshelves with insects, bones and fossils.
At college he read Philosophy and History before taking a PGCE, having been put off Biology by the standards of secondary education teaching of the day, but continued to read widely and collect and observe nature for fun. For the past 15 years he has been in charge of primary schools and family education at the Museum, which received the Guardian newspaper's ‘Family Friendly Museum of the Year' award in 2005 and ‘Clore Award for Museum Learning' in 2011, and teaches over 7,500 children a year the basics and beyond in Entomology, Zoology, Geology and Palaeontology, encouraging them to learn by handling and observing live and dead specimens in the hope of inspiring the next generation of naturalists.
Now also running the adult education programme at the museum, he also writes and draws cartoons based on natural history, is a Fellow of the Linnean Society and has acted as a consultant on various children's natural history books and appeared on TV and radio science shows and at various literary festivals across the UK.
"I'm particularly pleased to support Wild Learning as I am passionate about encouraging the next generation of natural scientists and nurturing children's inherent interest in the natural world. As a child (and indeed still as an adult) I was gripped by any book that took its inspiration from nature and now realise how effective that was in motivating and developing my learning. Literacy and scientific literacy are inherently linked and Wild Learning supports both, whilst also encouraging children's interest in the endlessly fascinating world of nature."
Claire has always enjoyed maths puzzles and playing games so being a NumSkills Tutor is her perfect job.
She loves sharing her passion for numbers and patterns with children and over her career as a primary school teacher, Maths Coordinator, Leading Maths Teacher and Headteacher in Oxfordshire she has supported children, teachers and parents in their learning. Developing confidence and curiosity is key in becoming a strong mathematician and Claire aims to use games and fun activities to do this.
Dalya has worked in the education sector for the last 15 years. With a background working in inclusion, including in an autism provision, she went on to train to be a teacher at the Institute of Education in London.
She has taught in schools across Oxford and has both expertise and passion for using storytelling to develop language and literacy. She has recently worked as a session and outreach leader for the Story Museum, delivering workshops to schools which focus on oracy for writing, and inspiring children through story.
Dalya also loves art and history, working for the Ashmolean museum where she teaches curriculum-based workshops to schools across the counties. She is skilled at tailoring her teaching to the needs and varied interests of the children.
Dr Andrew Gosler is University Research Lecturer in Ornithology and Conservation at Oxford University, holding a joint position in the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology and the Institute of Human Sciences, and is Fellow in Human Sciences at Mansfield College, Oxford. He is Director of EWA, the Ethno-Ornithology World Archive - ewa.ox.ac.uk.
He researched the ecology of birds in Wytham Woods as part of the long-term population study of the Great Tit there for more than 30 years, has been responsible for training more than 50 post-graduate ecologists in ornithological field techniques. He demonstrates bird ringing and other techniques for the BA degree in Biological Sciences, and lectures in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation for the BA degree in Human Sciences.
His teaching has led to an interest in the importance of personal engagement in ecology, in ethno-biology and the decline in natural-history knowledge of the Western community at large, increasingly reflected in an inability of students to name more than one or two native species of plant or animal. His connection with ethno-biology picks up an interest in historical ecology developed during an MSc in Plant Taxonomy (Reading 1981).
He was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the British Ornithologists' Union in 2018 and is an Ordained in the Church of England and a professed member of the Third Order of the Society of Saint Francis.
Emma graduated from Exeter University with a degree in Primary Education and started her career teaching in Key Stage Two.
She has since taught across the primary age range from Foundation Stage to Year 6. She has a particular interest in supporting those with additional needs and spent many years working as a SENDCo in a large primary school.
She has experience of supporting families as lead professional for families accessing early support. Emma has a post-graduate certificate in personal, social and health education which focused on emotional literacy and is hugely motivated by seeing children's confidence increase. She really enjoys supporting children in small groups to help them achieve.
Emma is an avid reader and enjoys the opportunity to share this passion with others.
Jeanette is an experienced administrator having previously worked for the Oxfordshire Education Action Zone (Hamilton Oxford Schools Partnership) and The Oxfordshire Pupil Referral Unit and Integrated Support as a PA and Administrations Manager, amongst other administration roles locally.
She worked as an administrator in Brisbane, Australia for John Paul International College, providing administration support for its Foundation to University students. Most recently, she was a small business owner, running a boarding kennels in Cambridgeshire.
Jeanette has worked in a number of administration roles across the education and child support sector.
Since then she has promoted maths and games inside and outside the classroom. She loves maths and would like more people to love it too. Through tutoring in small groups Jen aims to give children the confidence to be able to play with numbers rather than being afraid of them, creating a solid foundation for an ease with numbers, maths and calculations that will serve them well all their lives, and which they may one day pass on to their own children.
John grew up in a village outside Carlisle. As he didn't have a TV, he read a lot and so began a passion that remains with him today. After university in Oxford, he became a teacher and taught English for 20 years in schools in Oxfordshire, before becoming a full-time writer.
He loved poetry and when given the opportunity to compile a series of children's poetry books, he jumped at the chance. He has been compiling poetry anthologies ever since along with his own books of poetry and text books for schools.
John has been an amazing supporter of Quest for Learning for many years and the charity values his kindness, warmth as well as his superb humour.
John says, "I am delighted to become a Reading Ambassador for Quest for Learning, which through its intensive focus helps young children, who are struggling to learn to read, to overcome their difficulties. In this technological age, being able to read is as important as ever. Navigating the web and accessing and retrieving information depends on a person's ability to read. "Once children are able to read, they are able also to enjoy the wonderful range of children's literature that is available and thus to explore the world. Reading fuels the imagination and helps us to learn how others think and feel. The work Quest for Learning does is invaluable. It gives youngsters who are in danger of falling behind the skills they need in order to develop their potential to the full.
Julia has worked in education for over 10 years and trained as a teacher through the Oxfordshire Teaching Schools Alliance.
She has worked in a number of primary schools in Oxfordshire in both Key Stages 1 and 2. During her career, Julia has worked with looked after children, those from the travelling community and children who have English as an additional language, to develop their academic and social skills.
Understanding how children can have different challenges with their learning, Julia looks for something that enthuses them and uses that to adapt activities to make their learning more engaging. She is excited to be helping children develop a life-long passion for reading and maths.
Julia has worked in Oxfordshire for over twenty-five years. She has worked predominately in primary schools leading in literacy and the arts.
She has been a substantive and interim headteacher in primary schools across the county. Julia loves teaching and developing a love of literacy and learning in schools through book weeks, poetry slams, storytelling, and drama. She enjoys sharing her own enthusiasm for reading and writing with children. Most recently she has worked as an English tutor for primary and GCSE students.
Julia's teaching experience spans the whole primary and secondary school age. Believing that all children have great potential and knowing how difficult it can be to ‘catch up', she is delighted to be working for Quest for Learning to help close the disadvantage gap in literacy.
Karen trained as a primary school teacher at Oxford Brookes University and has had over twenty years' experience of teaching and tutoring students across the whole primary age range.
In her 15 years as a primary school teacher, Katie has been privileged to work with pupils and teachers in a variety of EYFS, KS1 and KS2 settings. She has worked as a classroom teacher and provided leadership for the development of her school's reading strategy.
Job Titles:
- Acting Vice Chair of Trustees
Kimberley is an experienced HR professional with over 15 years' experience across a range of roles, industries and countries.
She has written policies, implemented change programmes, and coached managers throughout her career.
Graduating from the University of Bath, Kimberley is interested in the people-performance link in organisations.
Liz has taught in a range educational settings including special schools, pupil referral units and higher education. She has also worked with a team devising and delivering programmes on social and health issues to primary and secondary students using the medium of drama and role play.
Her background is in Drama and Theatre Studies; before training as a primary teacher she was an educational puppeteer in the North West, delivering puppetry performances and workshops and supporting teachers wishing to use puppetry as a highly motivating tool to support many aspect of the curriculum.
She is currently a tutor for Looked After Children, working with students in the care system who need some additional individual support to help them achieve their full potential in secondary school and she has also worked in a UK closed centre, teaching English to adults from other countries. This entailed supporting them through difficult and stressful situations. It was very rewarding work and provided an opportunity to learn about many different cultures and languages.
She loves theatre, music and the visual arts. She is particularly excited about joining the Quest for Learning with Wild programme as she has always had a love of nature and the outdoors and is keen to pass this on to her learners.
Lynne has worked in the primary sector all her working career since achieving her degree.
Her interest in helping disadvantaged children engage and attain began during her early classroom teaching years when she worked in two Oxford city schools. As a result of this experience, she studied for a Diploma in Special Education and has worked as a Special Needs Advisory Support Teacher and a SENCo.
Lynne has a passion for enabling pupils' full access to a rich curriculum through supporting individual needs. She has often integrated music (a second passion) into small group work.
Lynne's teaching experience spans the whole primary school age range, and she is excited to be part of the Quest for Learning team.
Mary Hoffman is the author of over a hundred books, mainly for children and teenagers. Lately, she has been having short stories for adults published in anthologies.
She is a seasoned campaigner for libraries, school libraries and reading for pleasure. Mary has been a Writer in Residence in five Enfield schools.
She also founded (and edited for ten years) the children's books review magazine Armadillo.
Mary is Senior Lecturer in Child Development and Education, and Field Chair for the Early Childhood Studies Degree at Oxford Brookes University. She teaches across a range of courses for practitioners and professionals in early years, including the BA Hons degree in Early Childhood Studies, the PGCE and Advanced Early Years Specialism.
Her DPhil at Oxford University investigated the use of ICT in early years classrooms in relation to children's literacy. Research interests include children's thinking; early childhood literacy and parenting.
Mary says "A love of reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children and being a good reader is the cornerstone of success in school. I still recall the anticipation and pleasure that I felt as a child in my weekly trips to the library with my mum and sister. It came then as something of a shock to me, many years later as a new teacher, that this was a simple delight that many children did not experience and that for some children the process of learning to read was neither easy nor enjoyable."
"This was why I was so keen to work with Quest for Learning as part of our work at the School of Education at Oxford Brookes University. The energy and purpose behind your work is hugely inspiring and I am deeply honoured to have been asked to become one of your patrons."
Mini was given her name after being born in a mini car in an icy car park in South Wales. After school, Mini did a Foundation Course in Art, but knew she wasn't cut out to be a fine artist, so did an English degree at University College London.
Mini worked in a theatre for several years and then trained to be a teacher and worked for six years in South London. Mini had always done bits of illustrating in her spare time and had an ambition to have a book published someday. She did a two year MA in illustration at Brighton University and made a strange pop-up book.
There was no stopping Mini after that and her books include Egg Drop, The Pea and the Princess (shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal), Biscuit Bear (winner of the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Gold Award), Traction Man is Here (winner of the Boston Horn Book Award and shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal), The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon (winner of the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Bronze Award and winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal), and Traction Man meets Turbodog.
Job Titles:
- Marketing Consultant
- Trustee
Ned is a marketing consultant with over 20 years' experience working for businesses and charities across the UK and Europe. Today, he helps social enterprises to build capacity through trading. He was formerly a Governor of St Mary and St John Primary School, Oxford for 8 years. He has Masters Degree from Cranfield University.
Nick is one of this country's best-loved children's illustrators and thousands of Quest for Learning pupils have been lucky to access a wide range of his books. What better way to learn to read than through Nick's volumes!
He has now illustrated around 250 books, ranging from board books for babies to novels for young teenagers. He has worked with authors including Julia Donaldson, Jeremy Strong, Michael Rosen, Kaye Umansky and most notably Dame Jacqueline Wilson. He has also written around 40 books of his own.
Along the road, he has won many prizes for his work and was the official illustrator for World Book Day in 2006. He tells us he is also the proud owner of a Blue Peter badge. Nick says, "Being able to read confidently brings massive advantages and unlocks the door to a world of real opportunities. That's the aim of Quest for Learning and that's why I'm delighted to support them in their mission."
Nicola Davies is the author of more than 50 books for children, fiction, non fiction and poetry. Her work has been published in more than 10 different languages and has won major awards in the UK, US, France, Italy and Germany.
Nicola trained as a zoologist, taking a degree in Natural Sciences from Kings College Cambridge. She spent some years as a field biologist and studied humpback and sperm whales and bats before joining the BBC Natural History Unit as a researcher and then presenter. Following the start of her writing career she became a senior lecturer in Creative Writing, at Bath Spa University but has been writing full time for over a decade. She now regularly runs workshops for children and adults to help them find their voices as writers and advocates for nature.
In 2017 she was the first recipient of the SLA's award for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Non Fiction and in 2018 has two picture books shortlisted for the Greenaway Award.
Nicola is delighted to be a patron for Quest Wild, which combines her love of the natural world with children's literature.
Rachel has worked in a variety of education settings over the past 25 years, including Early Years, Primary Schools and special education, as well as more recently with children with literacy difficulties / dyslexia.
After graduating with a Psychology degree, Rachel worked at a therapeutic school for children with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties, before managing a voluntary organisation for adults with learning difficulties. Whilst raising three children, Rachel began working in Early Years, gaining Professional Status (renamed Early Years Teacher status), before moving into Primary Schools, where her interest in reading development grew.
Rachel has run many types of interventions in Primary Schools, across both key stages, and loves working with children in small groups and being able to really make a difference. Her knowledge and experience in reading development have been strengthened by studying for a post graduate qualification in Supporting Children with Literacy Difficulties, and for the last two years, Rachel has been tutoring for the Oxfordshire Dyslexia Association's Saturday School, alongside working as a Teaching Assistant. Rachel is excited about starting Reading Quest sessions, and using her skills to increase confidence in the children she will be working with, whilst having fun, which she feels is key to reading success.
Reka trained as a primary school teacher at Oxford Brookes University and has several years of experience teaching students in KS1 and KS2. Whilst working in a special needs school she discovered the importance of fine-tuning her teaching to meet the specific needs of each learner.
She has always been an enthusiastic reader and likes to bring this enthusiasm into the classroom to engage pupils. When Reka isn't reading or teaching, she volunteers at MIND and takes Psychology courses at Abingdon and Witney College. She also has a passion for outdoor learning.
Roger is a Senior Management Consultant with over 20 years' experience working with global Fortune 500 organisations. A qualified accountant, Roger has worked for Legal & General, KPMG and Genpact. He has an MBA from Henley Business School, Oxfordshire.
His past clients include; Elsevier, National Grid, Deutsch Telekom, CGI, Vodafone, Cisco, Mondelez and Siemens. Roger has written a number of white papers on the future of the finance and forecasting.
Roger has established a number of consulting practices and has worked extensively in India, UAE, USA and Germany. He has founded his own consultancy business which focuses on digital business transformation and complex change programmes.
His interests include (Welsh) rugby, music (especially collecting vinyl and hi-fi) and spending time with his family. Roger previously helped establish a national debating federation for children and strongly believes in the power of learning for personal advancement and social sustainability.
Roger has had a varied career as an entrepreneur, academic and manager. He attended Ruskin College Oxford and the University of Warwick as a mature student and went on to found the Enterprise Centre at Oxford Brookes where he became Deputy Dean of the Business School and a Professor of Entrepreneurship.
Since leaving Oxford Brookes, Roger has been Professor of Enterprise at Warwick Business School where he founded their business facing Enterprise Hub, as well as the inaugural Ashcroft Professor of International Management Practice at Anglia Ruskin University.
He has a great commitment to, and understanding of, the importance of providing opportunities for life-long learning, often with individuals who might have missed out on educational opportunities in their early years. His research interests include cognitive neuroscience and its links to enterprise education. He is a published poet and a maritime historian.
Samantha has been a class teacher in Oxfordshire since 1994, working mainly in KS2. She has enjoyed working with student teachers during this time alongside co-ordinating Design & Technology and organising provision for more able pupils throughout the school, as well as supporting KS1 pupils with additional needs. She has also worked as a Special Needs Co-ordinator in two schools.
She enjoys travel and has visited Australia, U.S.A. and Europe, and is interested in the way other cultures approach teaching. She loves reading and art, and is looking forward to exploring picture books with the young people that Quest for Learning supports.
After 20 years teaching in Key Stage One and Reception, Sarah has a lot of experience in making learning engaging, practical and fun ...
Sarah has enjoyed a long teaching career and has experience of working across the primary age range within mainstream schools and within special education since 1988.
She has a particular interest in children's literacy and supporting reading and writing. She loves to share books and find creative and innovative ways to engage children through sharing exciting stories and imaginative illustrations.
Saskia has worked in the field of education for more than 20 years and has gained wide experience in a number of countries.
As an early childhood teacher, she has greatly enjoyed introducing children to the wonders of the world around them through the written word. While some children can start to confidently grasp the concepts and meanings of words others find this more difficult, often leading to insecurities which can affect their wider academic and social achievements.
Saskia has particular interests and skills in working with such children and she is glad to be part of the Reading Quest and BookQuest programmes.
Sheenagh is a recently retired Headteacher at St Christopher's CE Primary School in Oxford, where she has experienced first-hand the positive benefits that ReadingQuest has on children within the school.
She has spent her working life involved with education, initially with music education for 4 to 18 year olds and then with primary education, becoming a headteacher in 2014.
Sheenagh has spent her working life involved with education.
Si n joined Quest for Learning in November 2018. Her background is in Higher Education admissions and outreach, both as a practitioner working with schools, students and parents to raise awareness and aspirations, and in a strategic policy capacity.
She is passionate about the transformative power of education and the need for equality of opportunity for all children and young people, regardless of background. In her previous roles, Si n has focused on promoting educational engagement among Looked After Children and Young Carers and has been a keen advocate for equality and diversity issues.
Outside of work, Si n helps to run a Brownie Unit in Abingdon and is studying towards a Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies. She has a particular interest in children and young people's mental health and is excited by the potential for Quest Wild to promote the well-being benefits of engaging with the natural world.
Tamzin has worked in the primary sector for many years, following her training at Oxford Brookes University. She has experience across the primary age range, predominantly working in Key Stage 1, where her passion for early literacy and numeracy development grew.
During her time as a class teacher, she witnessed the profound effect specialised 1:1 and small group teaching could have on children experiencing difficulties developing their key skills and is happy to be involved in this approach as Quest for Learning's Head of Teaching, as well as working as a tutor.
Tamzin feels privileged to have had a lifelong love of reading instilled in her at a very early age and is excited about having the opportunity to pass this love on to others.
Tom Moorhouse is a strange hybrid being, half children's author and half research ecologist (an entity probably not called an "authologist").
His debut novel The River Singers (published 2013) won the 2015 Quality Fiction category of the North Somerset Teachers' Book Awards. In addition it was nominated for the 2015 Carnegie Medal, longlisted for the 2015 UKLA and 2014 Branford Boase awards and has been shortlisted for the Stockton Children's Book of the Year. It follows the adventures of a family of water voles as they journey down the Great River in their battle to escape a new and terrible enemy. Its sequel The Rising (published 2014) sees the voles facing their most dangerous enemy of all: the Great River herself.
His books have so far been translated into seven languages, the French translation of The River Singers winning Le Prix LibbyLit for junior fiction in 2014. He works for Oxford University, writes for himself and is published by Oxford University Press.
"Ever since I was a child, reading has been my escape from the world, the place I go to see new things and meet strange and amazing people. It's one of my greatest pleasures."
Tony is an accountant with experience in many sectors, having qualified in 1992.
In 1986, Tony joined Chapman, Robinson and Moore accountants in Oxford and is today the Managing Director. As the Managing Director, he has an overview of all activities at CRM, but has a particular interest in business development. This has evolved through a combination of working closely with clients on the financial management of their business, and background studying and courses.
Tony acts as the Financial Director for a number of clients, helping them to ‘make the numbers work' in their business.
Tony is a much loved author and illustrator and his works are well known to staff at Quest for Learning as well as to the thousands of children we have supported.
Tony was born in London in 1938 and grew up with dreams of becoming a cowboy. However, when John Wayne failed to answer his letter of application, he went on to study at the Liverpool School of Art and undertook many jobs in the illustrating industry including Art Director at an advertising agency, Senior Lecturer in Art at Manchester Polytechnic University and Cartoonist for Punch magazine.
Tony has illustrated over 800 children's books, most notably the Horrid Henry series. He also finds time to write his own books with The Little Princess stories being among Reading Quest favourites.
In becoming a Reading Ambassador, Tony says, "Whenever I see a kid buried in a book, I feel that I am looking at something special, I feel that kid knows something that nobody else does, and that he or she has no boundaries, and one day will do things that will amaze us all."