Is the rise in kids reading rates thanks to comics?

[Comicsareback]

I saw a news headline saying the tide may be turning on the decline in children's reading. According to the National Literacy Trust, more children are reading books than last year and there are "green shoots" after a pretty worrying drop in reading.

Excellent news. Long may it continue, because a less literate society isn't good for anyone. But this got me thinking….

AIBU to think comics might be due some of the credit?

I've got 2 kids and they love comics as do their friends. The bookshop is a treat for them now and I'm happy to oblige (money is never wasted on a good book). They also read Harry Potter, MG Leonard and plenty of chapter books, but they’re definitely more enthusiastic about books since getting into comics / the Phoenix.

I just saw that Pablo and Splash ( Sheena Dempsey) is currently No1 in the children's fiction chart. My son loves that series. And Jamie Smart was No. 1 out of ALL books in the UK for a few weeks this year, which is pretty remarkable I think for kids books given there are fewer kids than adults right?

Comics weren't really a thing when I was growing up, but they were for my older relatives. My dad grew up in a northern town (left school early to work) and swears that is was thanks to comics he’s functionally literate. He and all his mates (boys and girls) would buy them second-hand and swap them. I never had that myself, but I've enjoyed reading my kids comics and have got into reading adult graphic novels recently as they’re a great escape.

The only negative is the selection in our local libraries is pretty shite, so it's costing me quite a lot of money! I do worry that kids whose families can't afford to buy them are missing out though.

Anyone else's children obsessed with comics/graphic novels? Or am I overestimating their impact on kids reading?

Jamie Smart is a bloody rockstar to my kids and their friends!!

Haha I think they had to change those things - beating from the parents??! Sounds good, need to give it a try

Dennis used to always get the slipper! Now there is a police officer character called Sergeant Slipper. 😄

I agree OP - I think that part of it is that the quality of the writing of kids' comics / graphic novels has improved. DS(6) is into Dog Man and Bunny vs Monkey, and they deal with a lot of complex and emotional themes! Some of the story arcs in BvM are really intricate (time travel / multiverses / etc) and Dog Man manages to cover a lot of difficult and emotionally charged topics very carefully.

I was in primary school through the 90s and every kid got the Beano and the Dandy every single week. That’s what you spent your pocket money on. We were all great readers because smart phones and all the rest weren’t a thing. Maybe the rise in literacy is the swing away from screens, now that more parents are wise to it and holding off giving their children iPads and phones.

Comics were a big thing for us growing up (70s). But back then of course no internet and only three/four tv channels with not much on during the day (not that my parents let us watch in the day), and reading was an activity for most anyway. My son (22) only reads intermittently and prefers biographies and more factual books (and is currently reading the bible!!!). My DD has to read tons for uni but also is working her way through the classics. I try and read most nights before bed. The phone is a huge distraction though. Anything that gets kids into reading is to be encouraged!

My brother was a slow reader but was unwell and had a time in hospital, He could read well when he came out because of the comics he had in the hospital.
It was like a switch turning for him.

His is amazing! I wonder if kids have good access to comics in hospital these days?

Yes, and Captain underpants! My dgs love dm and my nephew who has a visual processing disorder adores CUP. They all tend to access the stories in audiobook format but to be honest even my nephew has improved hoss reading and comprehension because he wants to search on YouTube so he has very determinedly learned how to memorise the key words and spellings so he can search his special interests. No mean feat for a kid that was diagnosed as basically having Alzheimer’s for letters and words.

Way back in 1998 I was on a forum with a poster whose mum had worked with reluctant readers, and comics were her go-to tool... so it's not a new idea

Very interesting… nearly half of people who voted don’t think comics are behind the improvement in reading rates. Would definitely be worth the National Literacy Trust exploring the reasons why… because if it is comics, then it will be a fairly cheap literacy intervention to buy more comics!

I was thinking this. Take away the option of the screen and suddenly that book is more interesting.

My son is 6 and certainly boredom is where he has wandered off and picked up books to read to himself or his little brother.

I think you’re right and there’s a big difference now with older primary kids not having smartphones compared to a few years ago.

Ours have never really had handheld screens. iPads are expensive and I’m not giving my kids my iPhone. I know you can get cheaper tablets but never been fussed

Ours do watch a lot of TV though!!

I think there’s some confirmation bias going on here OP. Your kids are into comics and it feels like you may have unlocked some secret. I don’t agree it’s especially significant although I know that Manga is a bigger deal. My own DD was exposed to all types of literature and taken to the library and read to a lot and was never interested in reading. The turning point for her as a teenager was the influence of a friend who’s a big reader and trending titles on Social media eg Booktok. Turns out she’s very into Romantasy so I’m now happy to provide any titles she wants.

My seven year old has a reading age of ten but we hardly ever read his school books (not really a good excuse apart from we work full time and really tired by bedtime!) I'm pretty sure he taught himself to read from Jamie Smart and Roblox 🤔

Well I went in to switch off my 6 year olds light half an hour ago and he was still awake reading his new Bunny vs Monkey, eyes half closed but loves them so much he forces himself awake to keep reading! So it definitely works for him, I'm thinking of getting a subscription to The Phoenix for his birthday.

But comics have been the best selling new kids books this year? Pablo and Splash is no 1 of all kids fiction books this week. So not sure that’s the case, they are selling more copies than Harry Potter and Julia Donaldson?

You can try 6 issues for a £1 to see if he enjoys it. We did that and then took out a longer subscription cause the kids were excited to get back from school and read each Thursday!

Thank you. As they said nothing about comics, I'm sticking to my conviction that they're not a factor.
That bar graph is horrifying, though!

Sorry to burst everyone's bubbles but think it's the rise in anime and manga.

Yes for the older kids, year 6 onwards I know are into manga. Younger kids Dog Man Pablo and Splash and Bunny vs Monkey dominate in my kids primary school- and from posters on here sounds similar

Yes and they don’t go into the reasons why they’ve seen an improvement. Hopefully they will be planning further research into what’s happening as it’s bloody important we find out. As you said the graphs are worrying.

What kind of society will be living in if the majority don’t read? I always thought we were on a path of never ending literary improvement until I started to read headlines about reading decline a couple of years ago.

Whatever factors are making a difference, let’s strengthen them, put money into them, because our economy and society will get a return on investment. If I was a betting woman I would say it’s comics, but apart from sales data and anecdotal evidence in my circles that many kids I know are nuts about comics, I haven’t seen any evidence yet.

My eldest son (10) is a massive reader but not really comics, my younger son (6). He’s started reading the x-man books; he can’t quite grasp the comics yet but they do a more easy read version - hasn’t really encouraged him to want to read but has encourage him to draw. And now instead of sitting on screens he draws all the time and has just won a completion through school were they were they were read a story and asked to draw what they thought the character would look Like and now his drawing is going to be in the book! Which I am hoping will encourage him to read it

That’s another angle I hadn’t really thought about- inspiring creativity and getting kids drawing and observing

Sure lots of kids aren’t interested in comics and we need a variety of reading material to engage kids based on their interests and story preferences

Btw I think 6 is still quite young to be reading independently, it often comes later especially for boys in my experience

He will read on his own things like cat in the hat etc and he enjoys it but mainly we read to him. Hard for us to gage because my eldest was reading independently by 3 which I know it not usual! The eldest has always taken his own books into school for reading because by the time he was reception he was reading year 4/5 level books!! Wish I could say it’s encouraged me to read more but it has not 🙈🙈🙈

From the report "Two-thirds (65.8%) were urged to pick up a book by teachers and more than half (54.8%) by their parents."