I was disgusted to see Jeremy Corbyn not only reading our book Bear Hunt to a group of small children but also showing them the text (Election 2017, 22 April). Schools minister Nick Gibb explained to me that it’s “dangerous” to let young children see “non-phonically regular” texts as it “confuses” them; children in such situations will “guess” the words, or use “other cues”, like the grammar of the sentence or context of the story. If I understand the Gibb theory correctly, I should say that it may have looked as if the children were enjoying themselves, but Corbyn was in fact exposing them to great risks.
Michael Rosen
London
• Regarding the suggestion that the BBC may sneak through an inappropriate choice for a new Doctor Who during the election (Letters, 21 April), I note with trepidation that George Osborne is not standing for re-election and so has some spare hours.
Brian Reid
Chelmsford, Essex
• Joe Cocker (Letters, 22 April) quotes Epicurus, a philosopher much admired by my husband, Bob Keats, who died a few days ago of motor neurone disease. The last sentence of his book, How to Die Well Without God, which he wrote after his diagnosis, reads: “I am comfortable to share with Epicurus his view that life is about love, friendship and shared experiences and not about greed, money and power … it’s been a gas.”
Helen Keats
Shorwell, Isle of Wight
• Please, Stephen Moss, don’t let them turn you into a poached egg on legs (Weekend, 22 April). Yellow and cream doesn’t suit you, and cutting your shape in half makes you look shorter and fatter in comparison with the much nicer “before” photo.
Mary Fletcher
St Ives, Cornwall
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