Every Child A Reader

Find out how a partnership with the #RTEToyShowAppeal, Community Foundation Ireland and Children’s Books Ireland is transforming young lives. 

The Power of Reading

We all know that powerful feeling of diving into a great book and leaving the world behind. What you might not know is just how powerful a tool reading, especially reading for pleasure, can be.

A vast body of research has shown that reading for pleasure helps children and young people to feel happier, experience better mental health, develop more empathy, do well at school and have better self-esteem; but the benefits don’t end there. Reading for joy can also impact a child’s future opportunities and socioeconomic status.

Did you know that a child growing up in poverty who is read to at age five has a significantly higher chance of economic success in their thirties than their peers who are not read to? [Book Trust, 2023].

In fact, reading for pleasure is one of the most powerful determining factors in an individual’s life achievement. When children read for joy, their lives are better. That’s why Children’s Books Ireland created the Every Child A Reader (primary schools) and Everyone A Reader (secondary schools) programmes.

These are evidence-based school programmes that help children to engage with and enjoy reading. The programme combines library book gifting, child-led participation, engaging activities and events, Champion of Reading visits, and expert tools and resources to bring a transformative culture of reading for joy to the school community.

Over the last year, through the support of The RTÉ Toy Show Appeal, Children’s Books Ireland delivered the Every Child A Reader programme in three DEIS schools in Ireland.

There is just no way we could have achieved the impact and change this programme has brought to our school on our own.

In addition to running the programme in the schools, Children’s Books Ireland was able to ensure that every single child in these schools would get the gift of a book of their own to keep. Lack of exposure to books at home is a particular problem among pupils in DEIS schools. Research carried out by Dr. Eemer Eivers shows that close to one quarter of pupils in such schools have little or no home exposure to books.

The impact that Every Child A Reader had on the students and their families was enormous. Towards the end of the programme, 89% of families were aware that it was taking place and all of those families felt that it was very important for their child to have access to books to read for joy at home. This is significant as it demonstrates the reading positive culture being built around participating children.

According to our findings, 72% of families reported that their child was reading more and enjoying reading more as a direct result, and 77% of children in these schools said that reading made them feel happy.

Evelyn Quinn, Literacy Coordinator for St. John’s Girls and Boys Infant School in Limerick, spoke about the transformative impact of the book-gifting programme:

‘We are an urban DEIS band 1 school so the range of titles we have was limited and our library was badly in need of new stock. We have 235 students and they come from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures and nationalities. Our own context has changed hugely in our pupil profile in the past number of years. Over a third of our students are EAL [English as a Foreign Language]. We now have a huge number of children coming to us from local IPAS centres so there was a massive need for kids to be able to see themselves in the characters and books they access and the richness of literature we have now supports that.

The impact [of the programme] has been amazing. We have a much more diverse book stock than we ever have had before which matches the diversity of our students. Every Child A Reader has helped to change our students’ disposition around reading for pleasure and that is essential. It has given the children ownership over how they respond to children’s literature and tapping into that creativity is what increased a lot of the joy. There is just no way we could have achieved the impact and change this programme has brought to our school on our own.’

About Children’s Books Ireland

Children’s Books Ireland is the national charity and arts organisation that champions every child’s right to develop a love of reading. Our mission at Children’s Books Ireland is to inspire a love of reading in children and young people on the island of Ireland, and to champion equitable access for all to excellent books. We share our expertise and enthusiasm with the adults who guide and influence young readers and encourage schools and early childhood settings to build a positive culture of reading and reading aloud. We support and promote authors and illustrators and connect them with their audiences through our work.

Join Community Foundation Ireland’s Equality Mission

If you are interested in supporting our work with children and young people across Ireland, through partnerships like this please do check out our Strategic Giving Page.