‘Harry Potter effect’ cannot breach UK reading divide

The survey of more than 18,000 children aged between 8 and 17 is one of the largest ever done in the UK, and shows a worrying divide between keen readers and the one in six children who don’t read a single book in a month.

The National Literacy Trust, who produced the report, warned that a fresh approach is needed to get more young people reading.

Director Jonathan Douglas told Channel 4 News: “The most important change since we last did this study in 2005 is the significant dip in reading of all formats – fewer books, even fewer websites. Life is much fuller and richer in terms of what you can do and all forms of reading are being squeezed.”

He believes that social inequality is widening the gap between children who read and those who dont, saying: “The characteristic of this country is that there are more extremely rich and poor people in general. What this country needs to do, and what we’re trying to do in terms of reading, is to bring the extremes closer together.”

The survey found that:
Nearly one in five children had never been given a book as a present and one in ten had never been to a bookshop.
Just under half of the children surveyed said they enjoyed reading very much or quite a lot, while one in ten said they didn't enjoy it at all.
More than half of the children answered yes to "I prefer watching TV to reading"
Text messages are read more often than books, with 60 per cent saying they read texts outside of class at least once a month.
77 per cent of children who read for longer than an hour at a time are above average readers

The statistics matter, as the survey also found that children who read text messages but not fiction books are twice as likely to be below average readers compared to those who also read fiction. Jonathan Douglas said: “We are worried that they will grow up to be the one in six adults who struggle with literacy to the extent that they read to the level expected of an eleven year old or below.”

‘I meet teenagers who read book after book and all they hear is that teenagers don’t read’

Patrick Ness won this years Carnegie Medal for his book for young adults, Monsters of Men. He told Channel 4 News that he knows from his own work promoting reading that there is plenty to be optimistic about.

“I’m not a Pollyanna, I’m realistic. These kind of surveys bring up problems that need to be addressed, but then the kids who do read voraciously get no reward and no praise. I meet teenagers who read book after book and all they hear is that teenagers don’t read.”

He says that when children are given a reason to read, they can do it.

“The complaint you get at schools is that they are given sheets of paper to read for exams, not whole books. I met some students at one school who were not the top set, but because they had a reason to read my book they were the best, most engaged audience I ever had,” he said.

“We need something hotter than Potter”

In 2005, Waterstones brought out a survey suggesting that Harry Potter has had a significant impact on children’s feelings towards books.

Teachers were questioned about whether they believed it had encouraged children to read – and more than a third felt that the books have had a bigger impact on literacy than the National Literacy Strategy. Of the 1,000 children they spoke to, six out of ten said that Harry Potter books improved their reading skills and nearly half said that JK Rowling’s writing made them want to read more books.

But Jonathan Douglas says that JK Rowling’s magic isn’t enough on it’s own to overcome the challenges of getting children reading: “The situation might be much worse if it weren’t for Harry Potter but sadly this still hasn’t bucked the trend. We need something hotter than Potter!”

Of planned library closures across the UK, he says there are serious concerns: “Library closures have the potential of being very damaging. We know libraries are very important in reading for pleasure because children can read their own books. The closure of libraries could restrict choice and restrict the development of a child’s abilities.”

Patrick Ness has also been campaigining to protect libraries. He says he is disappointed with the government’s approach: “The government say they are fighting for libraries but it’s hard to find evidene that they are.”

But he is optimistic, agreeing that the recent rise children’s fiction, particularly in the form of the Harry Potter series as well as darker teenage stories, has encouraged young people to read. “Twenty years ago when I was a kid, this darker fiction didn’t exist. You had Judy Blume and that was it. I always say, I will tell the truth about the darkness so that when I tell the truth about the good stuff they will believe me too.”

He says he does not think texting and social media are any more of a challenge to books than pressures of the past. “There have always been other pressures, there will always be kids who won’t read or a period of life where they don’t read. But I think we could celebrate the good part a bit more. Harry Potter did get kids reading and then they all grew up and read Twilight. The teenage market is in a very good shape.”