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Sanjee de Silva
Publisher, Sweet Cherry Publishing What does the NYOR mean to you as a publisher of children’s books? The importance of reading and the difference it can make to a child have been highlighted extensively within the media and our industry. The National Year of Reading brings these conversations together between parents, teachers and publishers along with the retailer – ensuring we focus on the task at hand and work with a unified voice. What do you hope will come from the events and publicity? While many publishers are focused on encouraging general reading, I suspect any natural increase in sales may largely come from existing readers buying more books. Personally, I want to see reluctant readers engaged and communities, such as those with special educational needs and Muslim communities, fully included in the reading experience. I also hope we can all agree that listening counts as reading, which is an initiative the government is keen to promote. What was your favourite book as a child? My favourite was Treasure Island. I found it quite challenging at first, and it took me a while to get into, but I was determined to enjoy it. Once I stuck with it, I absolutely loved it. I was also a huge fan of any adventure series where a group of friends solved mysteries in the British countryside. These stories were a major reason I was so excited to move to the UK; I looked forward to having my own adventures. I’m happy to say I was able to emulate those stories with my school friends, leading the way in den building and tree climbing all informed by the books I read. Natalie Woods Primary School Teacher, Maidwell Primary School What does the Year of Reading mean to you as a teacher? As an English specialist and life-long lover of books, having the opportunity to bring reading to the front of children’s minds is amazing! At our school, we spend time enjoying books for pleasure and discussing and recommending reads to each other, but with a curriculum that is overloaded this can be hard for teachers. We always enjoy taking part in World Book Day each year, so it is fabulous that we can continue to celebrate books and reading throughout 2026 as part of the Year of Reading. I feel it is the teacher’s responsibility to help children to find the right genre of book and author for them – there is something out there for everyone, and if we can support children to find the ones that appeal to them while they are still in primary school, hopefully we can establish more readers for life. What do you hope will come from the events and publicity? I hope it will highlight the drastic drop in the numbers of people (not just children) reading for pleasure. I have been a teacher for nearly 30 years, and in my career I have seen such a huge change in the reading habits of young people. As well as the fact that being able to read is a vital factor in future life goals, having a book to dive into to help you switch off from the stresses of the world is equally important. I certainly couldn’t survive without it! There is a great deal of evidence that young people are struggling more with their mental health than ever before, and that lower numbers of children each year choose to read in their spare time. Books obviously have to compete with devices to keep the attention of children and the science is showing that increased screen time actually rewires children’s brains, affects their sleep patterns and leads to increased levels of anxiety. The Year of Reading is an opportunity to bring the importance of reading for pleasure back into the national conversation. What was your favourite book as a child? It is so hard to pick a favourite as I read every day as a child (and still do!). I loved Enid Blyton books like The Faraway Tree and the Wishing Chair, as well as her stories set in schools like Malory Towers. I also liked the Famous Five and Secret Seven detective stories. They were exciting and the children in them had a lot of freedom and independence that I liked. The children’s book that I still read now and return to over and over, especially when I feel I really need to escape, is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I love being in my own garden and find great solace in it, and I am also slightly obsessed with robins, so this is literally my perfect book! Kirsty Woods Award-nominated bookseller, Kibworth Books What does the Year of Reading mean to you as a bookseller? It should come as no surprise that I feel quite passionate about the National Year of Reading! This national campaign is so needed and it’s heartening and so inspiring to see the DoE working with so many organisations to ensure maximum impact and legacy for the campaign. In some ways, the campaign is about what we do as booksellers every day, every year, which is to try to connect people to books they’ll love to read and promote reading for pleasure. What’s really important about the campaign messaging here is that we’re really trying to change perceptions about reading. Reading isn’t something disconnected to our everyday lives and interests, but can actually be entirely enmeshed in our deepest interests and greatest passions. It’s not about ‘shoulds’ or feeling obliged to ‘read more’ from a sense of guilt or worthiness, but about leaning into the things which spark your interest. As booksellers we’re perfectly placed to support people in discovering what this National Year of Reading might mean for them and their families. Bookshops are unique ‘third spaces’ where anybody can explore anything. Whatever you’re into, ask a bookseller and they can help you read into it more. What’s more, bookshops – like Kibworth Books – are welcoming, inclusive and human spaces, built upon values of connection, community and empathy. We’re here for all readers – avid, reluctant or just slightly relapsed, and we really do want to help get books into hands of readers. What do you hope will come from all the events and publicity? Nationally, I hope the campaign ensures that reading for pleasure is kept high on the agenda at government level, with more funding being made available for much needed school libraries. Also, that we see a public perception shift where books and reading are valued for their ability to enrich lives and improve local health. Here at Kibworth Books, our plans for the National Year of Reading include a formal re-launch of our reimagined Children’s Room and a year-long series of ‘Go All In’ events showcasing hobbies and past times such as sketching, sewing, gardening, sport, cooking, wine-tasting, creative writing and letter-writing. As Debbie, Kibworth Books founder and owner says: “We want to open our doors even wider to our community, to include anyone who wouldn’t traditionally consider a bookshop a space for them.” If we can help connect people with their interests, discover new passions, and feel at home here in the bookshop, we’ll feel like we’ve definitely done something right! On an individual level, I hope that this year helps people reconnect with reading – with all the joy, escape and inspiration it can bring. If someone who has never seen themselves as a reader or who has perhaps lost their way with books can find themselves connecting with stories in a way they’ve never done before, that’s absolutely something to celebrate. What was your favourite book as a child? I recently rediscovered a book I loved as a child called The Magic Toys by Pamela Oldfield. It’s about a toy shop which faces closure until, one magical night, all the toys come to life to spruce up the shop and save the day. Looking back, I think one could probably draw a direct line between my love of that book and my passion for independent bookshops and the power of community efforts! I also absolutely adored Winnie the Pooh and listened to the audio book every single night. I still have my very battered and treasured boxset of the books and love them just as much now as I did aged five. I shall probably be buried with them! |
Issue 29
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