2026 is the National Year of Reading, a Department for Education campaign delivered by the National Literacy Trust, which aims to change the decline in reading among children and adults.
Just one in three children aged 8–18 say they enjoy reading, and one in four children in England leave primary school unable to read at the expected level. Children with poor literacy skills are more likely to experience unemployment, poor mental health and even a shorter life expectancy.
While The Children’s Literacy Charity’s focus is on specialist tuition across all the important literacy skills, reading engagement and the joy of stories are central to everything that we do, and we are proud to be a partner of The National Year of Reading, working to help more children discover the joy of reading, and the opportunities good literacy opens up.
We have an exciting programme planned over the next 12 months. Each month an Author of the Month will be visiting our partner schools, taking part in assemblies and making videos for the children to watch. With reading engagement declining every year, we will be working together with brilliant authors to encourage children to see reading as a relevant, modern and social activity, and spark the magic of stories in their lives.
Authors of the Month
January – Nick Sharratt
We are delighted that author and illustrator Nick Sharratt is The Children’s Literacy Charity’s ambassador for the National Year of Reading, and our Author of the Month for January. Nick has written many beloved picture books, and we know that his playful creativity and colourful characters will be invaluable in encouraging a lifelong love of reading among the children we support..
“Engaging with books at an early age and reading for pleasure as a youngster brings many important advantages in future years. The message of the National Year of Reading 2026 is that no one should be missing out on the benefits of reading and the literacy skills that come with it – an outlook that is at the heart of The Children’s Literacy Charity’s amazing school programmes. I’m really looking forward to my role as ambassador for the charity and working with them in the exciting year ahead. “
Over January, the children in our Literacy Labs used You Choose by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart to inspire their literacy learning, and it was great to show Nick some of their work on his visit to St James’ Primary school in Bermondsey.
In this video Nick talks about our plans for the National Year of Reading and reads aloud from his book Caveman Dave.
February – Kim Hillyard
We’re delighted to introduce Kim Hillyard as our Author of the Month for February, whose stories will be brightening up the month for the children in our Literacy Lab.
“Reading is an adventure that lasts a lifetime. Helping children build a love for books at an early age is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. This is at the heart of The Children’s Literacy Charity and so it is my huge privilege to be Author of the Month in our National Year of Reading 2026. I’m so excited to see the work the Literacy Labs create with Bert and the Bubble! Let’s get reading together and remind ourselves how much FUN we can have when we open up the pages of a brilliant book. “
Over February, the children in our Literacy Labs will be using Kim’s new book Bert and Bubble in their sessions. It’s a gentle, charming story about Bert, who discovers a beautiful bubble and learns that sharing special moments can be even more joyful than keeping them to himself.
Watch the Go All In video here, and find out more at the National Year of Reading’s website, www.goallin.org.uk.
