Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future
“For too long, the life-changing benefits of children’s reading have not been taken seriously. And now – as our children face an unknown future – we risk losing a generation unless we act.” – Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Reading Rights report
BookTrust and the Waterstones Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce have launched Reading Rights: Books Build a Brighter Future. The report calls for national provision so that every child has access to books and reading from their earliest years. It calls on national and local leaders in early years, health, education and culture to come together to make reading a part of daily life for every child in the first seven years of life.
Reading Rights Summit
On January 22 2025, the Waterstones Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce and BookTrust hosted a Reading Rights Summit to address the‘invisible privilege and inequality’ within books and reading.
The day-long summit brought together expert voices in the political, education, literacy, early years, arts and health sectors to recommend an urgent course of action to policymakers that will help ensure that the life-changing benefits of children’s reading are taken seriously and made accessible to every child.
Support the Reading Rights campaign
Working together is crucial to ensure that every child can benefit from shared reading.
Here’s how you can support the Reading Rights campaign:
- Share our messaging: Use our social media images to help us spread the word about the Reading Rights report, and share your thoughts and actions using the #ReadingRights hashtag.
- Embed shared reading into your work: Whether you work with or care for young children yourself, or you work with organisations that do, think about what you can do to bring the magic of shared reading to them. Take a look at our resources to find useful tips and ideas.
- Donate: Your donations fund our vital work to support families to read together. Donate to bring the life-changing benefits of reading to every child.
- Sign up: Share your email address to be kept updated about the Reading Rights campaign, and our other BookTrust influencing activity
About the Reading Rights campaign
The Reading Rights campaign is Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s flagship project during his time as Waterstones Children’s Laureate (2024–2026).
A multi award-winning children’s author and screenwriter, Frank has pledged to amplify the national conversation about the role books and reading for pleasure play in transforming children’s lives.
My tenure as Waterstones Children’s Laureate will have happiness at its heart, but it will be about urgency. It will be about addressing invisible privilege and inequality.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Working with BookTrust, Frank will be hearing from people working on the frontline, bringing together partners from a range of sectors and advocating for the benefits of shared reading for all.
Championing Reading Rights at parliament
Frank joined BookTrust’s parliamentary reception at the House of Lords to talk about how sharing stories can support children in kinship, foster care and adoption – and to find out how he can help.
“I’m here today to listen. How are these children falling through the net?”
When you share a story, you’re giving a child a hug that will last the rest of their lives
Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Frank’s learning tour
Read more about Frank’s learning tour to discover more about how shared reading from the earliest years is changing lives.
Education
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Frank Cottrell-Boyce visited a school in Liverpool – the one nearest to where he grew up – to see how they are supporting families to share books and stories together, and what a difference this can make.
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In collaboration with BookTrust, Frank Cottrell-Boyce visited a school nursery in Liverpool to see why story-sharing interventions during the Early Years are so vital for children and how they are having an impact on families.
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Here’s what Frank took away from his visit to Meadows Nursery in Sheffield, which is situated on the Sheffield Hallam University campus and is also a space for research and developing best practice in early years and childcare.
Health
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In November 2024, Frank Cottrell-Boyce visited Riverside Community Health Project in Benwell, in the West End of Newcastle. He met with 10 specialist health visitors who are involved in collaborative projects that support the health and wellbeing of families in their area – and who use books as an essential tool.
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Frank Cottrell-Boyce visited a family hub in Southport to understand how books and stories are a vital part of Early Years speech and language support.
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Frank joined Professor Sam Wass at the Baby Development Lab in Stratford, East London to see what happens to a baby’s brain when their parent reads them a story – and why these shared moments are essential to a child’s development.
Community
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Frank wanted to learn about the work that’s happening on the front line to get children exposed to books and stories from an early age, the challenges the Early Years sector is facing, and what opportunities there are for change.
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Frank's visit to HMP Featherstone
16 December 2024
Frank visited HMP Featherstone with the charity PACT to see how prisoner-dads are sharing books and stories to build bonds with their children during family visits – and what an impact it’s having on everyone.