Reading for pleasure, buy a book, donate a book and then what?
Disclosure: I ramble/vent for a few paragraphs but then there’s more positive stuff further down about where your donations are going, I promise!
The National Literacy Trust recently published research stating that reading for enjoyment among children and young people is at its lowest level since 2005 (the year they started recording this data). This has been stuck in my thoughts for a while now… it’s mixed up in a whirl of worries about the mental health of our children, what they’re seeing online, the addiction to smart phones (my own addiction to my phone!)…less time in nature, less time playing and being kids, less time reading… for my own kids I have these fears…but with my teacher hat on, you throw in a host of adverse childhood experiences - being taken into care; a parent incarcerated; drug and alcohol addictions…and these fears multiply.
I don’t think many of my students will have ever picked up a book purely for the pleasure of reading. Never experienced the joy and escapism that only a good book can offer.
The National Literacy Trust reinforces my suspicions. Just 1 in 3 (34.6%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2024. Reading enjoyment levels have decreased by 8.8 percentage points over the past year alone. The research makes clear that there is a plethora of benefits to reading for enjoyment - improvement in educational attainment, cognitive and brain development, empathy, creativity, mental health and well-being. (Books should be prescribed by GPs!) The National Literacy Trust is calling on the government to urgently form a reading taskforce and action plan with multi-sector partners to address declining rates of reading enjoyment and, in its curriculum and assessment review, prioritise reading for pleasure alongside the skills that are vital in the development of confident, motivated readers. The full report can be found here if anyone’s keen to read more.
These swirling thoughts, combined with the planning for World Book Day (not coincidently, their theme this year is “Read Your Way” - focusing on reading for pleasure) I have been asking myself/the internet/my husband/my colleagues (I’m a lot of fun at parties, I know!) but what happens once kids get these books? Don’t misunderstand me, I am so excited to be able to celebrate World Book Day as a bookseller as well as a parent this year and truly believe what they do is phenomenal. But once these kids have their book - is it just gathering dust? Especially for those young people who are classed as growing up in “disadvantage and inequality”? (I promise it gets more positive soon…)
This last week I was in touch with a local children’s residential home to talk about gifting some books thanks to all your lovely donations on our site. We spoke about the young people’s interests, ages, any learning difficulties - helping me get an idea about what books would suit them best. (See top picture for what I picked - Sheets and Ostrich Boys are very good!) The staff member said reading seems like a “dying art” these days and none of the teenagers living with them read much at all. We spoke about the fact that, while they may not admit to it out loud, you should never underestimate how much a 15 year old still enjoys having a good story read to them. I’ve seen English teachers calm a class of thirty rowdy 14 year olds by reading a well-chosen novel. The staff member at the home commented that our young people need a Book Bug equivalent. Book Bug for teens I thought. What could it be called? I genuinely think this might be a wonderful idea if I could iron out the details… Best name sent to me gets a free book :) Could this help? A Book Club that wasn’t called a Book Club? Watch this space! Cogs are whirring....
As well as the home, I’ve also been in touch with a magical local charity - Bags full Of Love - who provide backpacks pre-loaded with care packages to every young person entering the care system in the local authority.
‘This is why Bags full of Love was set up. Far too many children come in to foster care/residential care with their clothes (if they have any) in black bin bags. Children deserve so much more and we try to make sure their bag full of love arrives at their new home before they do so that they have stuff to call their own’
Scottish Comedian, Kevin Bridges, recently shone a spotlight on Scottish charities he believes are doing extraordinary work (and generously donated too!) - Bags Full of Love was one of them. We have only been able to donate 6 books so far but we will be adding more to this as further donations come in. So a big thank you to those that have donated when on the site and watch this space for more news about where your donations go (and maybe even how we are getting young people to join a 'I am not a Book Club' Club!)
