Editorial 271
Since publication of our last issue, we have been celebrating the Beyond the Secret Garden by Karen Sands-O’Connor and Darren Chetty which draws on and expands their long-running BfK column. The book is available now from publisher English & Media Centre and well worth reading. In his speech at the launch at CLPE, Darren referred to BfK’s long policy of highlighting books that reflect our multi-cultural society and emphasising the need for them, referencing the Books for Keeps Multi-Cultural Guide to Children’s Books, first edition published 1999. He also praised the work of former BfK editor Rosemary Stones and her work in this area. A reminder that you can track all of this on the BfK website, all of our 271 issues are available in full on the website and searchable.
New research on the ‘crisis’ in children’s reading for pleasure
In the weeks after World Book Day 2025, we’re drawing your attention to two pieces of research into ways of addressing the issue. New research from the National Literacy Trust finds that listening to audio formats, such as audiobook and podcasts, could provide a gateway into reading and reading enjoyment for many children and young people.
The National Literacy Trust surveyed more than 37,000 UK 8 to 18-year-olds who said they listened to audio formats in their free time in 2024. The research revealed that children’s enjoyment of listening has risen slightly in the past year (from 39.4% to 42.3%), surpassing children’s enjoyment of reading (34.6%) for the first time since the charity started asking children about their listening enjoyment in 2020.
Almost 2 in 5 (37.5%) children and young people said that listening to an audiobook had sparked their interest in reading books, while more of those who enjoyed listening to audio also enjoyed reading in their free time, compared with those who didn’t enjoy listening (52.4% vs. 36.0%).
The research also found that when children and young people listen to audiobooks and podcasts in their free time, their learning, creativity and wellbeing can benefit.
Half of children and young people said listening to an audiobook or podcast enabled them to better understand a story or subject (48.4%), made them use their imagination more than when watching videos (52.9%) and helped them relax or feel better when they were stressed or anxious (52.0%).
The research also found that the gender gap in boys’ and girls’ reading enjoyment (28.2% vs 40.5%) reverses direction when it comes to audio, with slightly more boys than girls saying they enjoy listening to audio (43.4% vs 40.4%).
The National Literacy Trust has curated a range of audio resources to help families and teachers boost children’s enjoyment of reading through listening to audio. These include resources to help primary and secondary teachers make the most of audiobooks to support children’s literacy in the classroom and a monthly selection of audiobook picks from the National Literacy Trust for Audible.
Shared listening could be a particularly good way to encourage reading for pleasure as research from World Book Day shows that children are much less likely to grow up as readers if their parents don’t read.
Unsurprisingly, parents who don’t consider themselves as readers are much less likely to read with their children, with only 59% saying they do, compared to 71% of those who identify as readers. Additionally, parents who were not encouraged by their own parents to read (12% of those polled), are twice as likely to say they don’t encourage their child to read (15% versus 7% of readers.)
The research shows that reading avoidance is passed down, with the children of non-readers almost twice as likely to hold negative attitudes towards reading. Almost a third of this group (31%) say they avoid reading as much as possible (compared to 17% of children of readers), and that they don’t read for fun as books are boring (30% versus 16%). On the converse, three-quarters of children who think their parents enjoy reading for fun want to read more themselves. Time to switch on an audiobook?
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