‘It’s about making reading as natural as breathing’: Malorie Blackman backs the National Year of Reading
The Noughts & Crosses author is among the starry ambassadors for the campaign – one of the initiatives aimed at addressing the reading crisis
TL;DR
- The UK government has allocated £27.5 million for libraries as part of the National Year of Reading 2026 campaign.
- Research indicates a decline in reading enjoyment among children and young people, with only one in three aged 8-18 reporting high levels of enjoyment.
- The campaign aims to increase reading for pleasure by working with schools, communities, libraries, and early years settings.
- Plans include ensuring all state primary schools in England have a library by the end of the current parliament.
- Malorie Blackman, former children's laureate, is a campaign ambassador, emphasizing reading's role in understanding the world and fostering connection.
- The campaign will focus on all forms of reading material, including graphic novels and comic books, to make reading seem less solitary and more engaging.
- The National Literacy Trust highlights that reading is often perceived as slow and solitary in a fast-paced, spectacle-valuing world.
- Parents are encouraged to read with their children, with shared reading in early years identified as highly impactful.
- Research suggests multilingual children read more for pleasure and a wider variety of texts, often connecting books to personal experiences or cultural ties.
- The new Children's Booker prize aims to award best fiction for readers aged 8-12 and distribute shortlisted and winning books to children annually.
- Tips for encouraging reading include making it fun, creating a relaxed environment, sharing stories early, reading oneself, and letting children choose what they want to read.