Frank Cottrell-Boyce wants children’s reading to be treated as ‘ideal’, in a final laureate study | Books

Frank Cottrell-Boyce has urged lawmakers to treat children’s reading as a “right” rather than the responsibility of parents, warning that Britain is failing to understand the emotional and social importance of reading, as new research shows a significant decline in daily reading at home.

Speaking at the Royal Institution in his final lecture, The Kids Are Not Alright, the children’s prize winner linked the decline in literacy rates to poverty, homelessness and social media.

“Our children have been on the receiving end of two major challenges: Covid, and, more seriously, hardship,” Cottrell-Boyce said in her speech. “We can talk all we like about (the importance of) sleeping issues … but what does that mean for a child without a bed? Or without a place to sleep?”

He said that this “poverty of furniture”, along with the lack of housing, meant that children were unable to develop regular reading schedules. “You don’t go to Narnia because you have no clothes,” he said, “Your clothes are stored in bin bags ready to move again.”

New figures from BookTrust, released to accompany the study, show that daily reading among families aged eight and under has dropped from 60% in 2021 to 49% in 2025.

It comes as the UK celebrates The Year of National Readinga government-run project supported by the National Literacy Trust to tackle the decline in rates of reading for pleasure. The campaign includes the launch of the first Anna Booker Prize, with a judging panel chaired by Cottrell-Boyce. Three children between the ages of 8-12 will be recruited to help judge. The project also includes distributing 72,000 books to children in need, and encouraging a “national mission” to make reading a daily habit.

Along with the financial crisis, Cottrell-Boyce spoke to the Guardian about the impact of television and social media on children’s attention. He said concerns about “disruptive” technology platforms were now inevitable, saying that children’s attention is being captured by systems designed to enhance engagement.

“These kids are working on great technology,” he said. We all do, but you work for someone who doesn’t like you, who won’t pay you and doesn’t care how many hours you work.

Regarding the strong legal and political leanings of the technology industry, he added: “These towers must be fully responsible.

He added that we have failed to define what reading provides more than the results of reading. “Reading has become so closely associated with the benefits of reading, that we have failed to find the benefits of the mind, the fact that it is fun and should be done for the sake of happiness,” he said.

Despite the growing number of problems, Cottrell-Boyce said she still believes in children’s literacy rates and the work already being done in communities. He said: “Hopelessness is a precious thing that we cannot afford. “I have hope. I’ve met amazing people and seen amazing performances that don’t have a lot of money.”

Cottrell-Boyce has spent two years as a children’s champion promoting her Freedom to Read campaign, which argues that shared literacy should be implemented in early years support, from health visitors to family shelters. The new children’s prize winner will be announced in July.