Merseyside children’s author Paula Fletcher has warned against putting too much pressure on young people to read.
Her comments comes as a new scheme launches with the aim of encouraging parents to become expert storytellers. “Tell Me A Story, Liverpool” is a partnership between Liverpool City Council, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and Dolly Parton’s ‘Dollywood Foundation’, which aims to provide parents with practical tips to help them enjoy reading to their children.
Ms Fletcher said: “The worst thing we can do is put too much pressure on [children] to read”.
While praising the new initiative, she said: “Making reading fun and their own choice is absolutely imperative. The worst thing we can do is put too much pressure on them to read.”
Ms Fletcher added: “I really think it should be an enjoyable activity for the adult as well. There is nothing worse than reading feeling like a chore.”
Councillor Harry Doyle said: “Reading to your child helps to build a life-long love of reading. I am so pleased that families will have the opportunity to discuss how they can use books and stories to support the development of their child.”
In 2024, the National Literacy Trust found that just 1 in 3 young people aged 8 to 18 said that they enjoyed reading in their free time, and that only 1 in 5 of the same age group read something every day.
Councillor Doyle said: “A child’s first years are when their brains are developing the most, and this amazing opportunity to promote and provide shared reading opportunities will have a positive impact as we help more children to develop and be ready to start school.”
In addition to the campaign, Mrs Fletcher has started up her own Community Interest Company called “Write To Be Me” which she says: “will support children and adults to write and illustrate their own book, which we will then publish to Amazon.”
