Reading is power: West Midlands homebuilder helps tackle book poverty

The Children's Book Project seeks to tackle book poverty and give every child the opportunity to own a book.

It believes in empowering children to choose a book they are motivated to read, as well as the power of reading communities.

In support of the charity, David Wilson Homes held a collection of pre-loved books at its divisional office in Solihull and gifted a total of 140 books to the project.

Anna Powell, Marketing Manager at the Children’s Book Project, said: “Poverty is by no means the only reason for a lack of books in many homes.

“Lack of time, negative experiences as a child or a lack of confidence about their own reading skills or book choices can all undermine a family’s propensity to own books.

“Book ownership has been directly linked with improved mental health amongst children and a greater tendency to read for pleasure, whilst reading fluency itself has a significant impact on children’s successful progression through education.”

The Children's Book project aims to put on book gifting events that are inclusive, joyful and have a tangible impact on every family that participates.

The Department of Education makes the importance of reading clear, stating that language development is key to developing children's listening and understanding skills.

Helping children better understand the world around them and a consistent reading schedule can develop children’s knowledge of language and create passionate readers.

Anna continued: “By age 11, there is a 12-month language development gap between children from book-rich homes and those with fewer than 10 books.

“Our aim is to tackle the attainment gap arising from low book ownership. We want every child to feel part of their reading community and to identify with books that they have enjoyed.

“The books donated will be gifted to children via schools all across Birmingham andSolihull.”

Statistics from the National Literacy Trust tell us that just two in five children and young people aged eight to 18 said they enjoyed reading in 2023, the lowest level since they started asking in 2005.

Anna said: “We work closely with women’s groups, children’s centres, prisons and schools to gift gently used books to children nationwide, forging links with settings whose communities may benefit most from access to free books.

“In every instance, we work with a provider to help them plan the most creative and enjoyable book gifting event.”

This year, the Children’s Book Project will gift over 350,000 books to children via their schools and settings. The vast majority of these come from families happy to find new homes for the books their children have outgrown.