Booktime and Booked Up Deliver over 2 Million Free Books to Children across the UK

Response follows research finding that children’s bookshelves are becoming overrun with DVDs and video games

London – October 20 – It is widely acknowledged that one of the most important things a parent or caregiver can do to help their children’s learning and development is to inspire a love of books and reading. In new research published today, surveys of more than 3,000 parents, caregivers, and children in the United Kingdom found that the love of reading is growing among children. However, the research also showed that, despite evidence that children are eager for parents and caregivers to read to them, 3% of parents and caregivers never or rarely read with their children. For those who do, just one in three reads with his or her children on a daily basis.

The research was commissioned for two free book programs, Booktime and Booked Up, from independent charity Booktrust. To help encourage a lifelong love of reading – both stories and poetry – Booktime and Booked Up are arranging distribution of more than two million free books to schoolchildren across the UK; all are gifts from international education and publishing company Pearson plc.

Findings Indicate Positive Trends, Highlight Areas for Concern

Some key findings from the research:

• More dads are reading with their children than in previous years (40% increase since September 2008).

• 60% of children like to share a book with their parents/caregivers because it shows that the adults like to spend time with them.

• Households with girls have 10 more children’s books than those with boys. One in every 20 family homes in Britain today has fewer than 10 books.

• Children are enjoying reading more: 96% of all children surveyed say that they enjoy reading, peaking at 99% among 7-year-olds and falling to 89% of 12-year-olds (overall, this represents a year-on-year increase of 5%).

• 56% of all parents and caregivers (and almost half of all parents of 4- to 5-year-olds [48%]) say their child spends more time facing a screen, playing computer games, and watching DVDs than reading.

• Parents and caregivers of boys are twice as likely not to read with them compared to those who have girls.

• Technology, home entertainment, and work (through emails and working at home) are impacting book time. While flexible working is supposed to enable a positive work-life balance, children are increasingly losing out.

• Bookshelves are under threat in a third of British homes: one in three parents and caregivers (34%) say shelves are increasingly being filled up with DVDs and computer games, especially in homes with older children (this is the case in 41% of homes of 11- to 12-year-olds).

• The UK’s all-time favorite fictional character, according to more than 1,300 children, is Harry Potter, followed by Horrid Henry and Tracy Beaker. Action heroes Captain Underpants and Ben 10 relegate children’s classics Cinderella and Peter Pan out of the top 10. Roald Dahl’s characters, including Matilda, Charlie (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and the Fantastic Mr. Fox make multiple entries in the top 20 all-time favorite characters.

The results reveal that in today’s economic climate, parents and caregivers face ever-increasing pressures and demands on their time, which directly impact on opportunities for sharing a book with their children. According to the research, long working hours, getting home late, and tiredness prevent parents and caregivers from reading with their offspring, while one in 10 say checking emails and spending time online is a barrier to reading for pleasure.

The research also reveals:

• Children are keen for both parents/caregivers to read more: When it comes to choosing between mom and dad to read more often with them, 79% of children want mom and 56% prefer dad, while a further 23% cited their grandparents.

• Reading frequency: One in every 30 children says that he or she “can’t remember” the last time he or she read with a parent or caregiver, as it was so long ago; and one in 20 (6%) says it was over three months ago. (This could be linked to children wanting to read on their own.) However, the vast majority of parents and caregivers say that they often read for pleasure with their children (72% say weekly and 54% say the last time they read together was only yesterday).

• Number of books in the home varies: While 13% of parents and caregivers say there are more than 100 children’s books in their home, one in 20 parents and caregivers says there are fewer than 10 children’s books (in total) at home.

• Mom is still the main reader, but dads are catching up: In British homes, moms are still the principal reader (58%), versus 16% of dads.

• School term ends, book time increases: 33% of parents and caregivers say they spend more time reading with their children during school holidays, compared to 20% who say that they read together more when school is in session.

The research also asked parents and caregivers what books their children enjoy reading for pleasure. Three-quarters (75%) say story books are the type of books their children like to read most, while 47% say factual books are becoming their children’s top choice, closely followed by books linked to a TV series (45%), fairy tales (42%), and school books (39%). By the age of 11–12, more than half of children surveyed said that they enjoy young adult novels.

Children’s Views on Reading for Pleasure

The Booktime and Booked Up research asked more than 1,300 children about their own reading habits, what influences their choice of book, who influences them when it comes to reading for pleasure, and what, if anything, hinders them. The research found:

• Love of reading growing: 96% of all children surveyed said that they enjoyed reading (a 5% increase since September 2008).

• Reading role models: One in every 12 children says that he or she rarely or never sees his or her parents or caregivers reading for pleasure. Those children who never/rarely witness their parents or caregivers reading are most likely to give the reasons that they are either too busy or are watching TV.

• Children’s distractions revealed: When the researchers asked children themselves what prevents them from reading for pleasure more, they did not give interacting with friends or taking part in physical exercise as causes impacting most of all on book time, but cited sedentary activities such as watching TV (54%) and playing on the computer or video games (41%). Nearly one in five children (18%) says that nothing stops them and they always find time to read for pleasure.

• Who chooses what to read: 74% of children say they are the key decision-maker when it comes to choosing which books to read, while 15% say mom decides what they read, 5% say teachers decide, and only 3% say dads decide.

Children were then asked why they liked reading with someone; interestingly, the top reason is related to the emotional benefit that sharing a book brings:

The researchers also conducted an audit of reading influences with children being asked what would help them to get interested in reading a particular book. Characters in a book are the single biggest draw for children: of children surveyed, 51% say that if they liked a character it would get them interested in reading that particular book.

The ten biggest ‘reading catalysts’ are:

While many children are enjoying reading for pleasure, one in 10 parents and caregivers say that their child rarely or never reads the books they have, and a further 20% say they read them only occasionally.

Booktime and Booked Up Initiative

Responses and attitudes such as those revealed by the survey are what prompted the Booktime and Booked Up programs to give over two million free books to schoolchildren across the United Kingdom. Both programs promote reading for pleasure at important transition stages in children’s learning and development and are supported in England by the Department for Children, Schools, and Families.

Inspired by Bookstart, the free books program for babies and toddlers, Booktime will give a free book pack to every “reception-aged” pupil (4 to 5 years old) in England and Scotland this school term, and in Northern Ireland next term, as a gift from education and publishing company Pearson. A bilingual version of the Booktime program is being piloted in Wales for the first time this year. Additionally this year, children will receive a book pack that includes a copy of Mr Big by Ed Vere, and packs being distributed in England will also include The Booktime Book of Fantastic First Poems, a poetry anthology edited by June Crebbin.

For children ages 11 to 12, during this school term Booktrust will give 670,000 Year 7 pupils in England a choice of one free book from a list of 12 carefully selected titles as part of its Booked Up program. This encourages independent reading and is generously supported by a number of children’s book publishers.

In total, nearly one-and-a-half million books will be distributed, along with 750,000 book packs, to children in more than 20,000 schools across the United Kingdom. Nearly 24,000 resource packs will be given to schools and libraries in England to support the program.

TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher, herself the proud mother of a son, Oscar, supports the programs and comments: “It’s such a joy to snuggle down with my son and share a story. It’s a wonderful escapist activity and gives us time to enjoy the characters, be creative, and bond. It’s also a great learning experience for him and lots of fun.” Kirsty continues: “I’m proud to be supporting these two reading initiatives. It’s a brilliant way to keep children interested in books as they make the move from nursery to ‘big school’ and from primary to secondary. Plus, the fact that it’s free and available to everyone makes it even more appealing!”

Schools Minister Diana Johnson says: “This is an excellent scheme that encourages reading from an early age and helps sustain it into a child’s secondary years, and I am delighted to support it. Reading is a great way for families to spend time together and improves children’s learning. I am also pleased that, as well as mothers, fathers are increasingly reading with their children. Parents who introduce their children to books can really inspire a lifetime’s love of reading, so it is very good to see that more and more children are enjoying reading, not only by themselves but also with their parents or carers.”

Viv Bird, Chief Executive of Booktrust, comments: “It’s wonderful to see that children are enjoying books more and more each year and our sustained campaigns are working. Any time children spend reading for pleasure – either with a parent or carer or by themselves – is wonderful and life-enriching. We’re delighted that we can offer such wonderful quality books through Booktime and Booked Up and hope they will provide many hours of fun.”

Marjorie Scardino, Chief Executive of Pearson, adds: “Five years ago, we began to talk to Booktrust about how we could find a way to foster a love of reading in children. Since then, thanks to that partnership with Booktrust and the generous support of the DCSF [Department for Children, Schools, and Families], Booktime has delivered nearly four million books to over two and a half million children across the UK. Our research shows that more than half of the children asked say that the characters in a book are the biggest influence on choosing it. In Mr Big, I think we’ve found the perfect choice – you don’t get a character that is ‘bigger’ or better, and we hope that they have fun reading Ed Vere’s beautiful story.”

Ed Vere, author of Mr. Big, comments: “It’s truly exciting to be working with Booktime to help get picture books into as many young hands as possible and to encourage a love of reading from an early age.”

For More Information, Please Call:
National media

Katherine Solomon (Booktrust)
020 8875 4583
07826 937474

Alice Ingall (Booktrust)
020 8875 4827
07870 636 099

Maria Boyle
020 8876 8444
0788 764 7855

Regional media

Sasha Henderson
07714 768 365

Notes to Editors:
Booktime and Booked Up 2009 Research

Independent research was conducted on behalf of Booktime and Booked Up. 1,772 UK parents of primary school–aged children and 1,318 children aged 5 to 12 years took part in the research. This was conducted between September 22 and October 1, 2009. A combination of online and telephone research techniques were used to ensure a representative sample of the UK population was approached.

About Booktime

For more information and a range of downloadable activities and games, log on to www.booktime.org.uk. The site features activities and games as well as videos, competitions, blogs, and book recommendations.

About Booked Up

For more information, visit the Booked Up website, which also features games, competitions, and author blogs: www.bookedup.org.uk. Both Booktime and Booked Up are supported by the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools, and Families).

Interview Opportunities and Photographs and Graphics

• Ed Vere, author: primary school teacher/headteacher in key regions

• Viv Bird, director of Booktrust: parent of schoolchildren of various ages

• Frank Cottrell Boyce: author

• Emily Diamand: author

• Karen McCombie: author

• Steve Voake: author

A range of visuals (all print quality) featuring Ed Vere reading to children, plus pictures featuring parents reading with their children, can be downloaded by accessing and clicking on the press materials section at www.booktime.org.uk. A range of visuals (all print quality) featuring 11-year-olds reading for pleasure and images of all of the Booked Up jackets can be downloaded by accessing and clicking on the media section at www.bookedup.org.uk.

About Pearson

Pearson is an international media and education company. Its major businesses are: Pearson Education, the world’s leading education business, providing print and digital learning materials and services used by more than 100 million students of all ages every year; The Financial Times Group, which has an international network of business and financial newspapers and online services that are read by millions of business executives and investors every day; and Penguin Group, which is one of the preeminent names in consumer publishing, with an unrivaled range of fiction and nonfiction, bestsellers, and classic titles. Through its books, newspapers, and online services, Pearson helps people of all ages to live and learn. www.pearson.com

About Booktrust

Booktrust is an independent charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to engage with books. The written word underpins all of our activity and enables us to fulfill our vision of inspiring a lifelong love of books for all. Booktrust is responsible for a number of successful national reading promotions, sponsored book prizes, and creative reading projects aimed at encouraging readers to discover and enjoy books. These include the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Children’s Laureate, the Get London Reading campaign, the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and Bookstart, the national program that works through locally based organizations to give a free pack of books to young children, with guidance materials for parents and caregivers. See www.booktrust.org.uk