Smartphones, busy lives and falling adult literacy are all contributing to a decline in young people turning to books for pleasure. Can the trend be reversed?
Gender divide: In the past year, 39.1 per cent of girls versus 25.7 per cent of boys said they read for pleasure.
Silverdale Primary Academy in St Leonards, on the south-east coast of England, makes every effort to remind pupils of the joy of books. They are read to every day, visited by authors and encouraged to pick out books to enjoy in their own time.
Posters pinned to the walls of the school’s hall serve as analogue algorithms. If you like Lottie Brooks, reads one, try Cath Howe’s Ella on the Outside, or Kelly Yang’s Front Desk. Readers of Horrid Henry are implored to give Andy Shepherd’s The Boy Who Grew Dragons a go, or Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts by Katie and Kevin Tsang.
