Children fear bullies 'if they like reading books'

Children fear being bullied if they admit enjoying reading books, a children's author says.

Liz Kessler, who is based in Cornwall, described being told this at a Storytime event at a library in the county.

Her comments came as a new survey revealed that only one-in-three children in the UK said they enjoyed reading for pleasure.

Manager of Falmouth Library Jayne Cardew said Storytime events at libraries were encouraging children to become involved with books.

The National Literacy Trust, which conducted the survey, said it was the lowest level of reading recorded in the past 20 years.

The author, who has lived in St Ives for 12 years, said: "I've had two girls come up to me at the end of an event and they said, almost whispering: 'We just wanted to say we really love your books.'

When the author asked why they had not put their hands up when she had asked the class who enjoyed reading, she said they replied: 'We didn't want to be bullied.'

Polly, a mother and teacher in Falmouth who attended a recent Storytime event, said: "It's really important for children to see books being modelled, so children really need to see their parents reading and enjoying books."

Ms Cardew said she valued the physical nature of books.

She said: "It's about making children used to coming into the library, holding books, listening to stories and getting them familiar with the whole feel of it, because that lays a great foundation for them for when they're starting to read themselves.

"If you don't expose children to books, they're missing out."

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The recent survey by the National Literacy Trust of more than 76,000 UK children and young people found that 35% of eight to 18-year-olds said they enjoyed reading in their free time.

Jo Knuckey, a project manager at the charity, said all types of engagement with books was valuable.

She said: "For children and young people, it's important that they feel reading is part of their image and we're delighted if they're reading from a tablet, a smartphone or listening to audio books."

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