Really depressing hearing about the decline in reading & literacy in the UK. It’s probably to do with mobile phones, but we need to do something otherwise we’ll go backwards as a society. We have to get more kids enjoying reading and instil the habit early.
AIBU to think comics are the answer for many kids who are at risk of not getting into the reading habit and we should do more to give kids access to them? But my kids school and our local library doesn’t seem to recognise how popular they are and don’t really prioritise them.
Kids in my eldest class are obsessed with Jamie Smart and Bunny Vs Monkey yet our library doesn’t have many comics/ graphic novels to choose from - or maybe they’re so popular they’re not available when we visit on Saturdays?
I think we should we be promoting them more somehow? I’ve spent so much money buying new ones for my kids. They like to browse the shelves at Waterstones and it’s costing me a fortune! But I’m happy to spend on them due to their enthusiasm- comics helped get my eldest into reading other stuff like MG Leonard & Harry Potter so it’s paid off.
But the school doesn’t seem that interested! They’ve never read comics as whole class texts. I also heard about the excelsior book award and asked my school if they’d sign up (it’s only £30!) but they weren’t interested, which makes no sense it would definitely get the kids excited about reading doing a comics book club (plus it’s cheap!). Btw the excelsior website is great resource for recommendations - you can look at this years shortlist and past years too.
There seems to be a lot of snobbery in education still. But my dad who grew up poor in Ireland and left school early said he credits comics for being literate. He said they’d go out on the street in the 1960s after tea to do comics swaps! We never had comics as a kid so I must admit I was snobby about them at first… but I think this new resurgence is a fantastic opportunity to reverse the decline in reading. We just need schools, libraries etc to support it more right?
ps I know not all kids like comics and I’m not saying we should force them on these kids. Just saying more access for those who they appeal to