The initiative targets 5 - 14 year olds in areas of disadvantage and gives children who may have no books at home the opportunity to choose and keep two free books at creative summer events. Now in its fifth successful year, the initiative is funded by the WHSmith Trust and developed and run by the National Literacy Trust initiative, Reading Is Fundamental UK (RIF). In each of the 17 locations, a library, play scheme and WHSmith store are working together to create an engaging day of storytelling, fancy dress and arts and crafts. More than 6,000 books are being given away - two for each child.
The WHSmith Trust Summer Read kicks off its fifth year just weeks after an Ofsted report, English at the Crossroads, highlighted the importance of reading for pleasure for children's future learning and found that more needs to be done to engage young people with reading. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development research has previously shown that the amount a child reads for pleasure at 15 years old is the strongest single indicator of future success, outweighing socio-economic factors. [1]
Commenting on the aims of the project, Children's Laureate, Anthony Browne, said:
"If children are not encouraged to read for pure pleasure, we are in danger of creating a generation of non-readers. Allowing children to choose their own books is not only a great way to ensure they are not dragged away from reading books they enjoy - including picture books - it's also an important part of the fun.
"Summer is a perfect time for children to enjoy reading for pleasure - books are easily squeezed into a picnic basket or beach bag, and children have hours on end to dream and share stories. Picture books are particularly good for encouraging discussion and firing the imagination, but sharing any story can be a great holiday activity."
Play schemes and libraries in charge of ordering selections of books for the events have nominated ten great books to get children reading for fun this summer:
- Horrid Henry's Secret Club, Francesca Simon
- My Sister Jodie, Jacqueline Wilson
- You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum, Andy Stanton
- Top Trumps: Ultimate Cars 2, Richard Dredge
- Where's Wally? The Fantastic Journey, Martin Handford
- Goosebumps: Terror Trips, R L Stine
- You Choose, Pippa Goodhart & Nick Sharratt
- Aliens Love Underpants, Claire Freedman
- Coraline, Neil Gaiman
- Laugh Out Loud: Funny Poems, Fiona Waters
Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust, commented:
"The WHSmith Summer Read is particularly important for children who may have little access to books outside school, and may not be not confident in choosing something to read that they will enjoy on their own. Crucially, this is over the summer break from school - a time when children's reading habits can drop off."
National Literacy Trust - Emma Smyth 020 7820 6256 or email emma.smyth@literacytrust.org.uk
WHSmith - Daren Gordon 020 7851 8850 or email daren.gordon@whsmith.co.uk
1. Key Stage 2 national test results can be accessed at http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000865/index.shtml
2. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2002) Reading for Change
3. Ofsted report, English at the Crossroads
Ofsted visited 122 primary and 120 secondary schools across England between April 2005 and March 2008. The final report was released in June 2009 and can be found at www.ofsted.gov.uk/
4. Children's Laureate
Anthony Browne is the sixth Children's Laureate. The Children's Laureate is administered by the independent national charity Booktrust, www.childrenslaureate.org.uk.
5. The Top Summer Reads list was compiled by Reading Is Fundamental, UK, to be a representative sample across the following categories - fiction, non-fiction, poetry, 0-5, 5-8, 9-12, 13+, girls, boys, lower ability. Popularity is measured by the amount of times these books were ordered for RIF events.
Where's Wally? The Fantastic Journey M Handford | Join Wally on his quest through magical and bizarre fantasy lands. Hidden in every intricately-detailed scene are Wally and his friends - so let the hunt begin! |
Horrid Henry's Secret Club F Simon | Four stories about Henry, in which he goes to the dentist, torments his brother Peter, creates havoc at his birthday party, and plans revenge when Margaret won't let him into her secret club. |
My Sister Jodie J Wilson | Pearl and Jodie are sisters. Pearl is shy but Jodie is brave and Pearl adores her. How will she cope when her less sensible sister starts getting in more and more trouble? |
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum A Stanton | Mr Gum is a truly nasty old man. His garden is lovely, though - if only because of a frying-pan-wielding fairy. Then Jake the dog arrives in town. |
Top Trumps: Ultimate Cars 2 R Dredge | Car fans will love this photographic, statistic-packed guide to another 45 of the world's most exciting cars. One of a series of books including football stars, Doctor Who and sharks. |
Goosebumps: Terror Trips R L Stine | Featuring artwork from acclaimed comic artists, a graphic novel adaptation of three best-selling Goosebumps books. Things start to get creepy and fish turn into scary creatures. |
You Choose P Goodhart & N Sharratt | An interactive book that lets children imagine what friends, family and possessions they might like from a range of illustrated options. |
Aliens Love Underpants C Freedman | With a madcap, rhyming text, perfect for joining in, this story is fantastically fresh and funny - you'll laugh your pants off! |
Coraline N Gaiman | A spooky story of Coraline, a girl who finds a parallel world beyond the door of her new house - complete with parents who have buttons for eyes... |
Laugh Out Loud: Funny Poems F Waters | This is a very sunny, happy, hilarious collection of poems, guaranteed to bring laughter into your day. |
About the National Literacy Trust
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that changes lives through literacy. It links home, school and the wider community to inspire learners and create opportunities for everyone. www.literacytrust.org.uk
The National Literacy Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, no. 1116260, and a company limited by guarantee, no. 5836486, Registered office: 68 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1RL.
About Reading Is Fundamental, UK
Reading Is Fundamental, UK (RIF) is an initiative of the National Literacy Trust. RIF helps children and young people realise their potential by motivating them to read. Working with trained volunteer coordinators, RIF helps to introduce children to the fun and excitement of reading by allowing them to choose and keep up to three free books a year. www.rif.org.uk
There are over 300 RIF projects in schools, libraries, early years centres and community groups. To date RIF has given more than 850,000 books to over a quarter of a million children.
About the WHSmith Charitable Trust
The WHSmith Charitable Trust is an independent charity (registered charity no. 1013782). The Trust has two principal objectives: to support the local community in which WHSmith staff and customers live and work; and to support education and lifelong learning. The charity plays an important role in enabling WHSmith to be at the heart of the local communities it serves and is an ideal fit with the WHSmith core values and brand.
