The Reading Agency is a charity that runs programmes such as the Summer Reading Challenge in public libraries. In May 2026 it published Beyond the “Reading Crisis”: What the Evidence Tells Us About Building a Nation of Readers. What follows is my short summary of it in my own words, and you can read the full piece through the link at the foot of this post.
The figures are sobering. Just over one in three children say they enjoy reading, the lowest level since 2005. Only one in five children now read daily, and the steepest fall is among 5 to 10 year olds. Only 40% of children aged 3 to 7 are read to every day, and that number drops further as children get older. Among adults, only just over half now read for pleasure.
But the Agency argues that talking about a crisis is not the answer. Children are still interested in stories; they meet them in many different forms. There are hopeful signs too: the Agency’s own research found a 22% increase in regular reading among 16 to 24 year olds between 2024 and 2025. The task is to reconnect children with reading as something joyful, social and relevant to their lives.
The evidence points to four things that help. First, choice: children read more when they can choose what they read, and comics, magazines, ebooks and audiobooks all count. Second, reading works best when it is social, through friends recommending books, adults reading aloud and reading together. Third, representation and accessibility matter: children need to see themselves in stories, and accessible formats, including dyslexia-friendly books, graphic texts and audio, help every child take part. Fourth, children need reading role models, adults who read openly and honestly, even talking about the books they gave up on.
The Summer Reading Challenge shows what is possible. Running since 1999, it reaches more than half a million children every year, and more than 11 million books are read during the challenge every summer.
What this means for families
For a child with dyslexia, reading can easily become something that happens to them rather than something they choose. These four ideas turn that around, and all of them can start at home.
Let your child choose, even if their choice is a joke book, a graphic novel or the same comic for the tenth time. Audiobooks are real reading: they build vocabulary and a love of stories without the barrier of decoding every word. Read aloud together, talk about what you are reading yourself, and let them see you enjoy it. Dyslexia-friendly books, with clear fonts, tinted pages and shorter chapters, can make a real difference to how tiring reading feels.
If your child avoids reading, or seems to be working much harder than their friends to keep up, it is worth looking into. Knowing the signs of dyslexia is a good first step.
My thanks to the Reading Agency for this thoughtful piece and for sharing its evidence so openly. The full article is well worth a read.