Frank Cottrell-Boyce calls for children’s reading to be treated as a ‘right’, in final laureate lecture

‘I do feel optimistic’ … Waterstones Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Photograph: David Bebber

Frank Cottrell-Boyce has urged policymakers to treat children’s reading as a “right” rather than a parental duty, warning that Britain is failing to understand the emotional and social value of reading, as new research shows a sharp decline in daily shared reading at home.

Speaking at the Royal Institution in his final laureate lecture, The Kids Are Not Alright, the children’s laureate linked falling shared reading rates to poverty, housing insecurity and social media.