BookTrust and the Waterstones Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce have launched Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future, which calls for national provision so that every child has access to books and reading from their earliest years. It also calls on national and local leaders in early years, health, education and culture to come together to make reading a part of daily life for every child in the first seven years of life. A copy of the report can be downloaded here.
"Britain is not an equal society. Around 4.3 million children are growing up in poverty," said Cottrell-Boyce. "I started the Reading Rights campaign to highlight this indefensible inequality, but also to say that we can do something about it. We have an astonishingly powerful tool in our hands--shared reading. If you've been read to, as a child, by someone who cares about you, you have been given an enormous, invisible privilege. If you haven't been given that privilege, then you've been left with an enormous mountain to climb."
The Bookseller noted that research from BookTrust contained in the report showed that among low-income families only 40% say a bedtime story is part of their normal routine, 28% do not find reading with their child easy, while 21% lack confidence in choosing books their child will enjoy, and 38% don't read with their child due to lack of time.
The five key areas of action have been identified for their potential for change include workforce training; policy, guidance and frameworks; access to books; sharing high-quality research and evidence; and multi-agency leadership.
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In Australia, National Simultaneous Storytime, which ran on May 21, showed the country "is a reading nation--at every age," according to the Australian Library and Information Association, which organized the event, Books + Publishing reported. The 2,204,658 registered participants from about 16,632 locations read The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel, illustrated by Danny Snell, during the day.
Despite its name, National Simultaneous Storytime was an international event: in addition to Australia, participating countries included Aotearoa New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, the U.K., the U.S., Vanuatu and Vietnam.
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Cool idea of the Day: On social media, the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association posted: "We're absolutely loving these special notes from Thistle Bookshop and Cafe's [St. Catharines, Ont.] visitors during #CIBD2025 weekend. These readers encapsulate the meaning of stories in less words than we could ever fit within the character limit. As book lovers, why do stories matter to you? Let us know in the comments! #regram."
Thistle Bookshop had asked: "Why do stories matter to you? And wow (owen wilson voice)... you showed up. We received so many thoughtful, heartfelt responses during the Canadian Independent Bookstore Day campaign, and we truly loved reading every single one. The first card is our giveaway winner (congrats!!), but honestly, we wish we could hand out sweaters to everyone who took the time to reflect and write one of these. We're just so glad to be part of a community that not only values stories, but takes the time to express why they matter." --Robert Gray