No more 'dog ate homework' excuses

Lists of statistics are not usually up there on reading lists, but research on children’s reading habits, conducted on behalf of Booktime and Booked Up, is fascinating stuff. Answers given by 1,772 parents/carers of four- to 12-year-olds, and 1,318 children aged five- to 12-years-old, reach the overwhelming conclusion that children like books. 96% of the children surveyed say that they enjoy reading, peaking at 99% among seven-year-olds and falling to 89% of 12-year-olds. Mothers are still the primary ‘reader’ in 67% of households, but there’s been a 40% increase in fathers reading with their children since 2008 – and nearly half the children said they’d like to spend more time reading with dad. Interestingly, homes with girls have ten more children’s books than those with boys.  While in children’s bedrooms, bookshelves might have to be renamed because they’re increasingly used to house DVDs and toys, instead of anything made of printed paper.

The survey also uncovered children’s favourite fictional characters. Harry Potter, unsurprisingly, tops the charts, followed by Horrid Henry and Tracy Beaker. Action heroes Captain Underpants and Ben 10 have jostled Cinderella and Peter Pan out of the top 10, while Roald Dahl remains as popular as ever, with Matilda, Charlie and Fantastic Mr Fox all in the top 20. Hannah Montana is in at number five, but we’ll swiftly turn the page on that little nugget of information.

So children love reading, parents love them reading, and we all know how good reading is for a child’s development. Which is why it’s sad to learn that 56% of all parents and carers say their child spends more time facing a screen playing computer games and watching DVDs rather than reading.

To help encourage a lifetime in the libary, over two million free books will be given to schoolchildren across the UK through two free books programmes, Booktime and Booked Up, from independent charity Booktrust. Look out for the free book pack, including a copy of Ed Vere’s Mr Big, for every reception-aged pupil in England and Scotland this term, and Northern Ireland next term. Packs in England will also include The Booktime Book of Fantastic First Poems, an anthology edited by June Crebbin.

For children ages 11-12, Booktrust will give 670,000 Year 7 pupils in England a choice of one free book from a list of 12 selected titles. 

So that’s a total of nearly one-and-a-half million books, along with 750,000 book packs to children in over 20,000 schools across the UK. Nearly 24,000 resource packs will be given to schools and libraries in England to support the programme.

Visit Book Time and Booked Up for more information and a range of downloadable activities and games. The sites also feature activities and games as well as videos, competitions, blogs and book recommendations. It’s a great resource, and it’s free – and one of the few times when you won’t mind them being in front of a screen rather than with their nose in a book.