Frank Cottrell-Boyce has called on policymakers to treat children’s reading as a “right” rather than a parental duty, warning that Britain is failing to appreciate its emotional and social benefits. In his final lecture as children’s laureate, delivered at the Royal Institution, he linked falling rates of shared reading to poverty, housing insecurity and social media.
“Our children have been at the sharp end of two great crises: Covid, and just as damagingly, austerity,” he said. “We can talk all we like about bedtime stories … but what does that mean to a child with no bed? Or no space for a bed?” He described “furniture poverty” and unstable housing as barriers to building reading routines, adding: “You’re not going to Narnia because you haven’t got a wardrobe. Your clothes are stored in bin bags ready for the next move.”
New figures from BookTrust, released to coincide with the lecture, show daily shared reading among families with children aged eight and under has fallen from 60% in 2021 to 49% in 2025. However, the proportion of children who say they “like or love reading” has risen from 66% to 80% over the same period, indicating enthusiasm remains strong.
The lecture comes during the UK’s National Year of Reading, a government-backed initiative supported by the National Literacy Trust. It includes the first Children’s Booker prize, with a judging panel chaired by Cottrell-Boyce and three children aged 8–12, as well as distributing 72,000 books to children in need.
Cottrell-Boyce also criticised “addictive” tech platforms, saying children’s attention is being captured by systems designed to maximise engagement. “These kids are working for big tech,” he said. “We all are. But you’re working for someone who doesn’t love you, who is not going to pay you and doesn’t care how many hours you work.” He compared the situation to the “big tobacco moment” and insisted platforms should bear “total responsibility”.
Despite the challenges, he said he remains optimistic, citing “amazing practice” in communities that “costs next to nothing”. He has used his tenure to promote his Reading Rights campaign, which calls for shared reading to be embedded in early years support. The next children’s laureate will be announced in July.
