Giving Children Reasons to Enjoy Reading

The transformative power of reading

As teachers, educators, parents or carers, you understand the transformative power of reading. You know it opens doors to new worlds, fuels imaginations and sets children on a path to success.

So you probably also know that evidence shows that choosing to read, also called volitional reading, or reading for pleasure, is the single biggest indicator of future success, more so than family circumstances, parents’ education, or income.*

But here’s the problem: reading for pleasure is at an all-time low, with only one in three children now saying they enjoy reading, and fewer than three in ten (28%) children saying they read daily.**

Chief Executive of World Book Day – Cassie Chadderton

Reading for pleasure

World Book Day’s own research shows that children’s motivation to read is being squashed by a focus on skill, progression and functional reading. This can make reading feel like something they have to do, not something they choose to do.

Our research indicates that children are increasingly linking reading to homework.  Others can have difficulty finding books that resonate with them or characters they can relate to, while many can feel judged about their reading choices – particularly if an adult has criticised a book as being too young or inappropriate.

Yet, reading enjoyment does a lot of heavy lifting for improvements across the curriculum, and in life, including well-being. So, we need to give children reasons to find reading fun.

Read Your Way

We at the charity World Book Day say, Read Your Way. It’s an invitation to help children rediscover the fun of reading, on their own terms.  We know children are more likely to read if they think they’ll enjoy it, so our charity’s work encourages children to explore reading that meets their interests, supported and stimulated by a wide range of books, graphic books, comics, newspapers and audiobooks that take them on an exciting reading journey.

Research has found that children say reading is best when they can choose what to read (47%), when to read (42%), and where to read (37%). Another 25% of children that say if they had freedom read in other ways such as graphic novels or audiobooks, reading would be more fun. ***

Teachers and support staff have a significant impact on helping children discover the fun of reading. After immediate family, they are the most influential in fostering children’s enjoyment of reading. With them as reading role models, they’re demonstrating that reading is fun and helping the benefits extend far beyond the classroom.

That’s why at World Book Day, we encourage everyone to join in with ‘Read Your Way’, in whichever way it works. There are some simple steps we can take: from giving all children (yes, even the older ones!) the experience of being read to, to providing a wide range of exciting and engaging reading materials (yes including age-appropriate news, comic books, graphic novels and audiobooks!) for children to explore; from recognising and celebrating home reading (including in home languages), to simply chatting with other children – and letting them chat to each other – about books. These all encourage children to read their way and lead to greater engagement with reading.

There are lots of ideas and assets to support you:

• For educators at worldbookday.com/educators/
• For families at worldbookday.com/families/

There are so many excellent examples across the country of schools and classrooms with a strong reading for pleasure culture. Together, we can help children develop a lifelong enjoyment of reading that will open up a lifetime of possibilities.

We can all play a vital role in turning the tide and getting more children reading for enjoyment. Together let’s champion the fun of reading, because it seriously improves lives.

References

*OECD

**National Literacy Trust, 2023.

*** World Book Day and Beano Brain Research, 2023

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