Reading for Pleasure and A National Year of Reading 2026
Intermingled with the vast array of books on my sons’ shelves are picture books that once belonged to me. When I look at them, I am immediately transported back to my own childhood. There’s The Selfish Giant, by Oscar Wilde; and Labhras the King, a retelling of the Irish fairytale of the famed ruler secretly born with horse’s ears. These books conjured vivid worlds for me and there’s something magical about being able to step back into them still, all these years later.
This week, I was disturbed to read the National Literacy’s Trust’s latest research revealing the plummeting number of children reading for pleasure. The research reveals that only 32.7% of children and young people aged 8 to 18 -year-olds enjoy reading in their free time, which is the lowest figure since measurements began two decades ago.
Being read to, and then becoming a reader, shaped my understanding of the world so profoundly that I don’t know who I would be not having had that experience. Almost certainly, I would not be sitting here writing this.
Undoubtedly, the decline in children reading for please can be connected to the arrival of the smartphone. But it is unlikely to be the only reason. Austerity forced local libraries to close. Long working hours, solo parenting, health issues or different-aged siblings can make a bedtime story seem an impossible hurdle for many parents. And for too many, books are unaffordable and inaccessible.
Of course, there are many, many parents who read to their children daily. Sharing books with my children – seeing them delight in the escapades of their favourite characters and for me personally, seeing the brilliant and inspirational way children’s literature has developed since I was a child, has been one of the greatest pleasures of parenting. But I acknowledge that there are several reasons why I am able to do this. I have benefited from the immense privilege of being raised in a family where books were valued as important cornerstones of childhood and my parents spent time and money procuring them. And, in turn, I am lucky to be able to buy books for my sons, and I have plenty of time in which to read to them and have the energy to do so.
Yet, despite all this, I am quietly optimistic. For 2026 has been announced by the Department for Education as The National Year of Reading - a nationwide initiative to tackle this steep decline in reading. Being delivered in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, this campaign aims to inspire a love of reading for everyone and to create opportunities for children to discover the joys of stories, songs, and shared reading experiences. National events and local reading activities, have been planned across the UK. The year is intended to offer events and celebrations aiming to reach into every corner of society. Highlights include national storytelling week, creative writing competitions, parent and baby community sessions, and ‘In conversation’ events with bestselling authors like Celia Rees, with more to be announced throughout the year.
What is more, the first Children’s Booker prize, aimed at readers aged eight to 12, will be launched in 2026 and awarded annually from 2027. The inaugural award will be chaired by the children’s laureate Frank Cottrell‑Boyce and include young judges on the panel. The shortlisted and winning titles will be given to thousands of children. And the Cultural Policy Unit is also calling for library cards to be automatically issued to all newborn babies.
Of course, any whilst any initiative to foster reading is a cause for celebration, words must be backed up with action and long term funding. Free books and library cards for babies are useless without adult readers and well-resourced libraries. Rachel Reeves has promised to ensure that every primary school has a library – shocking, I know, to think that they didn't already! This should be a given, along with trained librarians, less overstretched teachers, improved provision for children with special educational needs and support for new parents and babies.
As Margaret Atwood writes in her poem Spelling: A word after a word after a word is power. We owe it to children to give them this power.
Make a new year resolution to read more: to yourself, to a friend, to a child.