Literature doesn’t belong “to the middle class” Sir Michael Morpurgo has insisted – but the cost of living crisis is depriving too many children of the “right to read”.
The author’s warning comes after the release of alarming new youth literacy statistics. Less than half of children are read a bedtime story, BookTrust research has revealed, and only 50% of kids aged between one and two from low-income families are read to daily.
“We have a right to our literature. It’s not for middle class people. It’s for all of us,” Sir Michael told The Big Issue. “[But] too many children don’t have access to books… And then this assumption creeps in, that ‘reading is for other people, it’s not for me.’ That’s a tragedy.”
The author – whose back catalogue of 150 books includes War Horse and Private Peaceful – has signed an open letter urging politicians to help “all families become reading families.” Other signatories include current laureate Joseph Coelho, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Sir Quentin Blake, Cressida Cowell and Michael Rosen.
“For our children and for us, reading is the great pathway to knowledge and understanding and empathy,” the letter, addressed to prime minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, declares. “Sadly in this country there are still millions of young children who never have the opportunity of finding this pathway.”
Why is reading so important for young people?
The open letter is part of BookTrust Get Reading campaign. Speaking to The Big Issue, Sir Michael Morpurgo – president of BookTrust – said that all children deserve the “magic” of reading, and the earlier they are introduced the better.