Part 4 - The Reading Crisis - Why children aren't reading and what we can do about it episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 20, 2026 · 20 MIN

Part 4 - The Reading Crisis - Why children aren't reading and what we can do about it

from Mostly Book Talk

In part 4 we hear more about what we should be doing to address the decline in children’s reading for pleasure. In this episode we focus on approaches in schools and how to involve staff and pupils in creating a reading for pleasure culture.For this series we interviewed the following people (not all feature in every episode):Dapo Adeola - Author and the illustrator of many books including Look Up!, Clean Up!and My Dad is a Grizzly Bear.Sita Brahmachari - Author of many books including Artichoke Hearts, When Shadows Falland Phoenix BrothersDr Darren Chetty - Lecturer at UCL Institute of Education and author, with Professor Karen Sands O'Connor, of Beyond the Secret Garden Professor Teresa Cremin - Professor of Education and Co-Director of the Literacy and Social Justice Centre at The Open UniversityCharlotte Hacking - Teacher Engagement Lead at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy and Research and Curriculum Lead at Herne Hill School Jenny Hawke - Children's Librarian and Chair of the Youth Library GroupTom Palmer - Author of many books including Angel of Grasmere, Resist and War Dog Glynn Palmer–Bell - Assistant Director of English at Castle View Enterprise Academy, SunderlandLouie Stowell - Author of many books including the Loki series, Otherland and the Dragon in the LibrarySabrina Sulliman - English teacher at Southfields Academy, South West LondonAt the end of the series we will invite comments and ideas from listeners so look out for how you can contribute to the discussion.Many thanks to everyone we interviewed and to our Co Producer Belinda Naylor.Send us a message

In part 4 we hear more about what we should be doing to address the decline in children’s reading for pleasure. In this episode we focus on approaches in schools and how to involve staff and pupils in creating a reading for pleasure culture. For this series we interviewed the following people (not all feature in every episode): Dapo Adeola - Author and the illustrator of many books including Look Up!, Clean Up!and My Dad is a Grizzly Bear. Sita Brahmachari - Author of many books including Art...

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Part 4 - The Reading Crisis - Why children aren't reading and what we can do about it

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This episode was published on February 20, 2026.

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In part 4 we hear more about what we should be doing to address the decline in children’s reading for pleasure. In this episode we focus on approaches in schools and how to involve staff and pupils in creating a reading for pleasure culture.For this...

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