Tag: Booktrust

Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, calls for national action to tackle children’s reading crisis at first Laureate Lecture, ‘THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT’

Stuart Mitchell

Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, used his Laureate Lecture to call for urgent national action to tackle the children’s reading crisis, as new research from the UK’s largest children’s reading charity, BookTrust, shows families are increasingly struggling to make reading part of daily life. The lecture, being delivered at the Royal Institution, London, is hosted by BookTrust, which manages the Laureateship. It takes place during the National Year of Reading and marks the end of Frank’s two-year tenure. Frank will reflect on the progress made through his Reading Rights campaign…

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Bookshop.org launches new charitable initiative ‘Read It Forward’ with BookTrust

Stuart Mitchell

Bookshop.org has launched its brand new charitable initiative Read It Forward, donating 10% of every children’s book sale in February 2024 to BookTrust. Launching just in time for half term and running throughout February, Read It Forward aims to inspire a love of reading in the next generation. The money raised will support BookTrust’s work with children, especially those from low-income families or vulnerable backgrounds. In addition, every sale on Bookshop.org supports independent bookshops across the UK, giving them an additional stream of income and keeping them thriving. Lizzie Catford,…

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More than a quarter of a million school children experiencing literary poverty

Stuart Mitchell

A child in literary poverty is defined as a child who is read to or with for pleasure, for less than 15 minutes a week outside of school. BookTrust’s latest study shows that 345,000* (14%) school children aged seven to nine are currently falling into this category, with a further 17% on the border, being read to or with for less than half an hour a week. Worryingly, six per cent of children aged 7-9 fall into the worse category of literary poverty, with their parents or guardians never reading to…

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