Prime Highlights:
- Noughts & Crosses author Malorie Blackman joins high-profile ambassadors to encourage children to enjoy reading.
- The campaign aims to make reading fun, accessible, and rewarding, helping children build important life skills.
Key Facts:
- Only one in three children aged 8-18 says they enjoy reading “very much” or “quite a lot,” according to the National Literacy Trust.
- The £27.5m government initiative will support schools, libraries, and communities, and includes the launch of the Children’s Booker prize.
Background:
The UK government has unveiled a major push to tackle falling reading levels among children, with the launch of the National Year of Reading 2026, backed by new funding for libraries and schools.
The initiative was formally launched last week at London’s Emirates Stadium and comes shortly after culture secretary Lisa Nandy announced a £27.5 million funding package for libraries. The campaign responds to growing concern over a “reading crisis”, highlighted by recent research from the National Literacy Trust (NLT), which found that reading enjoyment among children and young people is at its lowest level since records began. Only one in three children aged eight to 18 now says they enjoy reading.
The year-long campaign aims to work with schools, libraries, early years settings and local communities to encourage reading for pleasure and improve long-term literacy outcomes. It is supported by a range of high-profile ambassadors, including bestselling author and former children’s laureate Malorie Blackman.
Blackman said reading should be seen as a natural, everyday activity rather than a chore.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has also pledged that every state primary school in England will have a library by the end of the current parliament. Additional efforts include a parliamentary inquiry into reading for pleasure and the launch of the Children’s Booker prize, which will award £50,000 to the best fiction title for readers aged eight to 12, as judged by both adults and children.
Experts say it’s important that all children have access to books. Julie Hayward from BookTrust says reading with young children helps, but some parents may find it hard because of low confidence or past school experiences. Researchers also note that multilingual children often read to connect with culture, family, and life, not just for fun.
Some booksellers are unsure about new prizes, but educators agree it’s important to talk about books in a positive way. The main message of the campaign is simple: there is a book for every child, and finding it can create a love of reading for life.
