Editorial 274
New term, autumn is definitely making its presence felt, and there’s a torrent of Christmas books arriving at the BfK headquarters, but let’s instead look ahead to 5 March, 2026 and next year’s World Book Day.
The 15 £1/€1.50 books that children will be able to choose for free in exchange for their £1/€1.50 token have been revealed and this year, children were involved in selecting the titles, which explains why there are so some familiar names in the selection.
Beginner readers can enjoy the ‘heartwarming adventure’ of Peppa Pig in One Big Family, while older children can take flight in Skandar and the Secret Element by bestselling author A.F. Steadman, and there’s a treat for comic enthusiasts, who get to enjoy Bunny vs Monkey: Total Chaos! by Jamie Smart. Also represented are Sheena Dempsey with Pablo and Splash: The Castle Quest and Serena Patel with Pia’s Pet Club: Iguana Escape, while the presence of Unicorn Academy: My Secret Unicorn Diary and Unbelievable Football: The Most Amazing World Cup Stories You Never Knew written by Matt Oldfield, illustrated by Ollie Mann, will please lots of young readers.
Fiona Hickley, Interim CEO of World Book Day explains, ‘Our research shows children avoid reading when pressured, so at World Book Day we seek to appeal to children with our wonderful selection of £1/€1.50 books that are meticulously chosen to offer exciting options across popular interests and reading levels. Our aim is to ensure every child can discover their own kind of fun in the books.’ With the well-reported fact that only 1 in 3 children say they enjoy reading, and in a new Year of Reading, World Book Day feels more vital than ever.
Children’s reading and AI: new research
New research from the National Literacy Trust provides insight into how young people and teachers across the UK are using generative AI to support literacy and what it means for the future of reading and writing in the digital age.
Building on findings first published in 2024, the reports draws on responses from more than 60,000 young people aged 13 to 18 and nearly 3,000 teachers as part of the National Literacy Trust’s Annual Literacy Survey, 2025. It shows that young people’s use of generative AI has become firmly established, with regular, weekly use rising from 1 in 3 (31.1%) in 2024 to almost 1 in 2 (45.6%). Older teens (16–18) were more frequent users than their younger peers.
Alongside using generative AI to ask questions, help with homework, or for entertainment, young people are also using these tools to enhance their literacy activities, including:
- Improving vocabulary (39.5%)
- Checking grammar and spelling (35.2%)
- Summarising a text (33.0%)
- Getting feedback on writing (20.7%)
- Understanding ideas in a text (19.6%)
Young people who enjoy reading and writing are more critical, creative, and active when engaging with generative AI, with significantly more young people who enjoy reading and writing checking if AI content is wrong (1 in 2 vs 2 in 5), and a quarter (26.6%) of those who enjoyed writing using it to help brainstorm ideas and help with story elements, like characters, plot or dialogue [4].
With 1 in 4 (25.1%) young people admitting to ‘just copying’ AI outputs, a concerning increase from 1 in 5 in 2024, it is promising to see that enjoyment of reading and writing – and the enhanced literacy skills that come with it – may play a key role in empowering young people to use AI more effectively and responsibly as it becomes a bigger part of everyday life.
While 2 in 3 (65.5%) of young people agreed it’s still important to learn how to write even when we have AI, the growing tendency to rely on AI rather than think critically highlights the importance of embedding media literacy and reflective AI use into the curriculum. 8.2% of young people surveyed disagreed, and the remaining 26.3% either didn’t know or neither agreed nor disagreed.
Find out more, including how teachers are using AI to support writing and reading.
Whose History? Challenging historical narratives through writing for children and young people.
What stories do we tell children about the past? From whose point of view are these stories told? Whose lives are considered to be important and are retrievable from the records?
This year’s IBBY UK conference (8 November, Open Ealing Arts Centre, London W5 2TD) will explore and interrogate these questions.
Speakers so far include Sandra Agard, Chris Haughton, Catherine Johnson, Bali Rai, Gita Ralleigh, Michael Rosen, and J.T. Williams.
Find out more about this year’s conference and get tickets.
Special offer for readers of BfK
Not been to an IBBY UK conference before and keen to attend? Books for Keeps is offering one free place to someone in that situation.
If this is you, write to us enquiries@booksforkeeps.co.uk and explain in 150 words or less, why you would like to attend the conference and how it would benefit you.
The closing date is 17 October. The winning applicant will be announced on 22 October.
Terms and conditions: Books for Keeps Offer Free Place at IBBY UK Conference
