Growing up, my mother always taught us the importance of giving back where we can. Along with working, she would always spend a day a week at a local hospice, and she’s now volunteering in a local primary school. It’s therefore always been engrained in me that if we’re in a position where we’re safe, we have food and we’re happy; then we should pay it forward. When I found the opportunity to volunteer at the after-school reading programme with the Literacy Pirates charity, it really clicked for me. As a person who loves reading, I’m passionate about helping children discover the joy that comes when you get lost in a book.
While new research from the National Literacy Trust shows a modest upturn in children’s enjoyment of reading (from 32.7 per cent to 36.1 per cent) and daily reading habits (from 18.7 per cent to 20.3 per cent) after hitting a 20-year low in 2025, engagement levels remain significantly lower than a decade ago (when each was 58.6 and 32 per cent respectively). There are so many reasons for this; time, energy, distractions and social media to name but a few.
As an ambassador for the National Year of Reading, I’m trying to encourage as many people as possible to pick up a book — or an audiobook, graphic novel or ebook, whatever works for them — because there’s so much to be gained from it. During my time volunteering, I’ve seen kids who were a year behind their classmates make huge improvements, as well as witnessing the massive strides they make in their confidence. They’ve learned that they can speak up and have an opinion about what they’ve read, and that they also have a story to tell.
I’ve seen children become excited to put their hands up and offer their thoughts on a book — which is something so special to see when children aren’t always encouraged to believe that their thoughts on reading and writing are as valid as their teacher’s, or anyone else’s. In my experience, reading and literacy programmes can be invaluable in helping children fulfil their full potential.
A safe haven between the pages
As well as boosting confidence and enabling academic improvement, books can also be a safe haven for children. The world isn’t always an easy place, and whatever you’re going through, you can turn to a book and find solace in it. In my opinion, the most important thing that we gain from reading is empathy. You learn to walk a day in the shoes of someone else; I always think that a good book teaches you not only about yourself, but also about the world.
I remember reading Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses as a child — it was the first time I’d seen an interracial relationship on the pages of a book, and it really helped me to understand what my parents might have gone through when they were building their own family. The futility of conflict, segregation and racism were suddenly all set out for me, and I had the tools to understand them in the world; it changed my outlook. I once interviewed children’s author Katherine Rundell for my podcast and she said that children’s books should address harder subjects and topics, because it gives children the ability to then process and navigate them when they happen in their own lives. Books can help to provide comfort and guidance for children when they need it most, and help them to make sense of the world.
Giving permission to question
There are so many things that people can do to get children to read. For parents and carers, it can be as simple as starting with your children’s interests and showing them how reading can add to the enjoyment they already get from those passions. If they love video games, that might mean reading an article that explains how their favourite level was created. If they are football mad, it could be a matchday programme, magazine or a player’s biography. If they are fascinated by space, it might be a classic science-fiction novel that transports them to another universe. Encouraging children to read might be as simple as starting at home — but there are also so many opportunities out there to volunteer, donate books, or even help online. No matter how much, or little, time you have — you can find what fits you best on the Go All In website.
One of the best experiences I’ve had while volunteering was last week when I asked a young girl which books she gravitated towards the most, and she said that she loved poems. When I asked why, she said, “You don’t know what they’re supposed to mean, so you can work it out yourself.” I found that to be an amazing metaphor for life, and it sums up why reading is so important — because it gives you the permission to formulate your own opinions, and your own understanding of the world.
So often we’re told what to think, and we’re expected to accept how things are. But really, what books can show us is that we can question everything, and everything is open to interpretation. We should all feel confident enough to inquire about the world around us and make sense of it in our own way. That, to me, is what reading can bring us all; and I believe it’s vital that we pass this on to children.
As told to Eilidh Dorgan
Vick Hope is a National Year of Reading 2026 ambassador, supporting the Go All In campaign to help more people discover the joy of reading
