Here at Edith & George, we believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life. And a huge part of that is the magic of reading. So we were thrilled to see the recent "Reading Rights Summit," hosted by the current Waterstones Children's Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce making headlines on January 22nd, 2025.
This quote from Frank Cottrell-Boyce really hammers home the challenge we face in terms of the perception of reading amongst children:
“Our children are near the top of the global leagues when it comes to the mechanical skill of reading but near the bottom when it comes to ’reading for pleasure’. We’ve taught them all the steps and the names of all the tunes. But they’re not dancing.”
The Reading Rights summit, held at Liverpool's iconic St George's Hall, brought together leading voices from across the country to discuss a crucial issue: ensuring every child has access to the transformative power of books and stories, from the very beginning.
Why is Early Reading So Important?
As parents, we instinctively know that reading to our little ones is a special bonding experience. But it's so much more than that. As Frank Cottrell-Boyce powerfully puts it:
"6 in 10 parents and carers of 0–7-year-olds wish they had known earlier just how important it is to read and share stories regularly with their children."
Research consistently shows that reading aloud to children, even from birth, has a profound impact on their development, boosting everything from language skills and cognitive development to emotional intelligence and overall well-being. These impacts don't just stay with the children in their early years, they provide them with enhanced life chances as they grow.
Cottrell-Boyce, known for his award-winning children's books and screenplays, is using his platform as Children's Laureate (2024-2026) to champion "Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future." His campaign aims to tackle what he calls the "invisible privilege and inequality" within the world of children's books and reading.
Our three takeaways from The Reading Rights Summit:
The summit, organised in partnership with BookTrust, the UK's largest children's reading charity, highlighted particular areas for improvement, and offered a powerful call to action for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his government.
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The Best Start in Life: The summit urged policymakers to make sharing stories a fundamental part of early childhood care. This includes equipping midwives, health visitors, and other early years professionals with the tools and resources to introduce reading to all families from day one. As Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region put it, we need to "normalise sharing stories as part of the best start in life for every child."
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Nurseries and Schools: The second key area focused on ensuring that nurseries and schools are equipped and supported to make reading and storytelling central to early education. Michael Rosen, former Children's Laureate, argued for a renewed focus on nurseries and schools making sharing books and stories central to early education.
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Families and Communities: Finally, the summit emphasised the need to support all families, especially those facing challenges, to make reading a part of their daily lives. Alex McCormick, from Spellow Library in Liverpool, highlighted the importance of community support in getting families reading together, saying:
“We want all families and communities, including those experiencing vulnerability, to be supported to make reading and storytelling part of daily life".
So What Can We Do?
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Start early: Read to our children from birth, even if it's just for a few minutes each day.
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Make it fun: Use silly voices, ask questions, and encourage interaction.
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Create a reading routine: Make storytime a regular part of our day, perhaps before bed or naptime.
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Visit our local library: Libraries are treasure troves of books, and they often offer free storytime sessions and other activities. You can search for your nearest library in England and Wales here.
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Lead by example: We should try to make time for reading for ourselves and let our children see us reading and enjoying books.
- Avoid the trap of valuing one type of reading over another - if its sparks the imagination and makes reading a pleasure then it is valuable.
Every Child Deserves a Story
Here at Edith & George, we're passionate about reading and this story hitting the headlines made us realise that we only offer one children's story book in our range. This is something that we’d love to change. We believe that every child deserves a bright future, and reading is a vital part of that journey and so we are developing an interactive digital children's book starring the characters from our Milestone Cards - Quiet Bird & Friends. Why digital? - because we want it to be available to everyone, everywhere and so we plan to make it available as a free download.
While we’re working on our book - “Quiet Bird Said Nothing At All”, The Book Trust will be working on a report summarising the key outcomes and policy recommendations from 'The Reading Rights Summit' and they'll be publishing this in spring 2025. We'll be sure to keep you updated. In the meantime, let's work together to ensure that every child has the opportunity to discover the magic of reading.
Let us know in the comments below: What are your favourite books to read with your little ones?
