BookBrunch

One strand of the research commissioned by Booktime and Booked Up, as reported on BookBrunch, has not been commented upon. Among the revelations about the proportion of fathers who read, about children’s favourite characters, and the rise in general enthusiasm for reading, there were some interesting results about the factors that encourage children to read.

There is a general assumption by publishers that celebrity influences children. The results showed that it was a long way down the list of reasons for reading anything.

Only 5% of children said they were attracted to a book if someone famous said they liked it, or if someone famous (eg, Madonna or David Walliams) wrote it. Which goes to show that the deals these books command are based not on what children want to read, but on what parents buy.

Children want characters they like (top of the list at 51%) and story (43%). They choose by series and genres they like, and by copying what their friends are reading. Television shows and films influence them, but, interestingly, at a similar level to the recommendations of teachers and of parents, which are often assumed to be a dead hand. It turns out that – encouragingly for parents who can hesitate to pass on their preferences out of fear of changing times and tastes – a third of children are interested in books their parents liked as children. Librarians, we learn, are as influential as websites in directing children’s reading, which means that technology is not more powerful than personal enthusiasm.

The only sad finding is that a famous author’s recommendation is even less influential than any other famous person’s. On the other hand, this probably has to do with how little opportunity most children have to hear what famous authors have liked. Other than that, it is all heartening news. What the research as a whole says is: children love it when adults make the time to read, and would like to be read to more, not least by their dads; and enthusiasm within families is catching. Personal contact is the best thing about it, the stories themselves matter, and sharing books builds relationships. Celebrities, for once, can butt out.

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