Embracing 2026 – The National Year of Reading

Twenty-twenty-six has been branded The National Year of Reading in a joint effort by the DfE and the National Literacy Trust to improve children’s literacy levels and life chances. But what does that mean, and more importantly – how are we going to make it happen?

The concept of ‘reading for pleasure’ has long been part of the literacy rhetoric, but it can be tricky to know what that looks like in practice. Even when there are strategies and initiatives to support it, how do we really ensure that children are reading well, and reading for the love of it?

For many, reading is hard. Text is fraught with complexity and linguistic traps, which prohibit understanding and make the process demotivating and frustrating.

Where’s the love in that? In order to achieve a good level of comprehension, 95% of the words encountered need to be known and understood. That means if just 10% of the words are unfamiliar the content will ultimately be impenetrable.

And yet, books are one of the best sources of vocabulary – accessing them is the best route to acquiring a rich, comprehensive language and therefore an easier, more rewarding experience with text. It feels like a trick – read lots and you’ll learn more words, which will make reading easier and more enjoyable.

Read rarely, and the language barriers will grow, making reading harder and more unpleasant. It’s a conundrum that’s made harder by the fact that the longer children go without fluent reading skills, the harder the texts around them become.

However, if someone reads aloud to a child, introducing and explaining the unfamiliar vocabulary, the unknowns are no longer a barrier to the understanding and enjoyment of the book. Furthermore, fluency, tone, pitch and voice can all be modelled – essential for comprehension. New words can be learnt, comprehension developed and meaningful discussions held.

Take this example from the picture book Hedge Lion by Robyn Wilson-Owen, where the language is rich (scaring, roar, alone, protect, creatures) and the conversation prompts endless:

Why doesn’t the lion roar? What is it like keeping feelings bottled up? How does it feel to be alone, scared, alienated? What do we do to try to fit in?

Challenging, engaging stuff, all within the confines of a fairly undemanding, short picture-book.

So often, picture books are reduced as material for the very young, but they can have a huge amount of depth to them – both in terms of language and theme, in fact even the illustrations are often sophisticated and mature – think graphic short novel, rather than baby board book.

The following extract is from The Pebble by Marius Marcinkevičius and Inga Dagilė, a short, impactful picture book about the Holocaust:

Consider the language opportunities, the context and discussion potential and the higher-order thinking skills, not to mention the evocative artwork. But despite the book’s wealth, it is a relatively short, manageable, achievable read.

Luckily the breadth of material continues into the YA category with relevant, meaningful books being released quicker than they can be consumed. The value in finding books that speak to their readers cannot be underestimated, so it’s worth trying to understand what children’s motivator drivers are, what they’re interested in, what sort of texts engage them, what makes them want to read.

And just because children might be older, doesn’t mean they should be read aloud to any less. A stretch text that’s read aloud provides so many more opportunities for vocabulary, comprehension and background knowledge development than silent reading.

It’s the conversations around texts that will build on the foundations of vocabulary acquisition – being introduced to new words, talking about their impact and using them is the best way to ensure children own their developing language. By reading aloud to children – of all ages – we can bring books into their world, making them more accessible and consequently more enjoyable. If we give young people one gift – surely it should be that?