The Queen has urged communities to give children the gift of reading and make illiteracy "a relic of the past", as she celebrated the efforts of 1,000 reading champions across the country.
At an event at Clarence House today, six of the volunteers known as 'Literacy Champions' from Cornwall, Bradford, Stoke and the North Yorkshire Coast met Camilla, to celebrate 30 years of The National Literacy Trust. The charity has been credited with inspiring more than five million children to immerse themselves in books, working with nearly 17,000 schools. In 2023 alone, it gifted more than half a million books and in the past year, reached 10,000 parents of under-5s.
Camilla - a passionate advocate of literacy and books - is patron of the NLT, which supports families with young children to help them develop the literacy skills they need to get the most out of life. After being handed some of the ambassadors' favourite books to read over the summer including Handle with Care by Shreya Sen-Handley and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, she told her guests: "A huge thank you to you all. You all do a brilliant job. I hope the next thirty years will achieve something that makes illiteracy a relic of the past. Thank you so, so much for all you do."
The charity has committed to creating a library in every primary school in the UK by 2028.. Supporter and award-winning writer Malorie Blackman, described as a "national treasure" for her books for children and young people, said it was important to break down barriers for youngsters who have yet to discover the joy of reading.
The former children’s literature laureate said: "When I was at school I distinctly remember getting scolded for reading a comic that I had saved up my pocket money to buy and absolutely loved reading. The teacher tore it up and embarrassed me in front of the whole class saying I shouldn’t be reading such rubbish.
"But our own Queen will tell you, it doesn’t matter what you are reading, whether it is a comic book, a novel or an encyclopedia, as long as you are engaged the possibilities are endless. We still need to change attitudes to reading to give young disadvantaged children a chance of lifting themselves up, whether that is in life from their backgrounds or purely as a form of escapism for their mental wellbeing. There is no such thing as the wrong book, so let’s get kids reading!"
One of the Literacy Champions chosen to meet the Queen was 10-year-old Jayden Lowndes. The lad from Stoke-on-Trent changed his reading habits with the help of a school mentor so much so that he now runs a scheme at his school where each Friday he wheels out a trolley of books for parents to choose and swap back, after they have read them at home.
Jayden revealed his love of reading was ignited by comedian turned bestselling children’s author David Walliams. He said: "I love everything about his books, but what I like best is that books can relax you and make you laugh. You can share them with your friends and swap stories on your best bits and now we all love reading." His mum Caroline Lowndes said: "We couldn’t be prouder of him."
Simone Reid, 40, from East Bowling, Bradford also became a Bradford Literacy Champion during the pandemic to help herself, her daughter, Taliah, nine and her community engage with literacy while schools were closed. She said: "Reading is the best gift you can give anyone. It opens worlds and it opens doors to bigger and better things in life and everyone has a responsibility to the next generation."
Adele Parks, author of 23 bestselling novels including the recent bestsellers Just Between Us and One Last Secret, said whole communities have a responsibility to engage children in reading. She said: "The joy of books and reading shouldn’t start and end with school, or just in the home away from others, we should all be encouraging each other, sharing what interests us and acts as a way of keeping us alive. Children of all ages are sponges, but if we manage to engage them as young as possible, there is such a wealth of opportunity for them."
At the event Gruffalo author Axel Scheffler also revealed that his own daughter stopped reading as a child - but thankfully has picked up a book again. The best-selling illustrator, whose children’s books with author Julia Donaldson, have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide, reassured parents everywhere that reading can involve a little trial and error - but urged them to stick with it.
"I have been involved with the charity for around ten years…and think their work is so important," he said. "Honestly, I am quite shocked that a charity has to do the things that the state would normally do, teaching children how to read and be literate. But it’s amazing the work that they do. It’s a privilege to help.
"The Queen’s support is so key. It’s very important to have someone like that supporting them. She is a great reader. I know she had read the Gruffalo to her grandchildren."