Why reading for pleasure matters: with Molly Arbuthnott

According to recent research from the National Literacy Trust, around two-thirds of children no longer enjoy reading for pleasure in their free time. This crisis makes our mission more important than ever. 

A key focus of what we do is encouraging reading for pleasure, where we partner with schools to foster an environment where children actively choose to read books and other materials for their enjoyment. 

We spoke to author and former teacher, Molly Arbuthnott, about why books are a key part of personal growth for children. She shared her thoughts on reading for pleasure and why it matters now more than ever. 

Molly has also supported Bookmark’s Author Corner project, an initiative to inspire children to read and write.

For Molly, books offered a sense of connection to the world around her, helping her foster her relationships with family and friends despite being far from home.

Molly approaches her writing process with an active mind. She highlighted how important it was to ​“be out living life and having experiences” that enrich her storytelling. She also mentioned how reading books in her free time has been instrumental in sparking new ideas and inspiring creative concepts for her stories. This highlights the power of reading for pleasure in shaping stories and ideas and demonstrates how important reading can be to unlock creativity and imagination.

Encouraging personal growth through reading

Molly hopes her stories will empower and inspire children to develop the confidence they need to ​“feel brave and have belief in themselves” – qualities that are essential to a child’s personal growth. She believes reading plays a significant role in fostering this growth, providing children with opportunities to learn, reflect and build resilience.

Her previous social work with Children’s Hearings Scotland, ​“showed [her] how resilient children can be in difficult circumstances” and she hopes, through her books, that she can bring joy to children’s lives. 

Molly said, ​“My stories are about finding your own path and staying true to yourself as it’s quite easy, especially in modern life, to get caught up in things you don’t necessarily want to do.” By fostering a love for reading, Molly hopes to help children gain the courage they need to navigate life.

Reading for pleasure in today’s society

Having learnt one in four children leave primary school in England struggling to read, Molly emphasises how important reading for pleasure is in today’s society. She said, ​“There are so many books out there to educate young children. Reading is also a good discipline to learn, because you have to focus your mind on what’s in front of you, which is a key skill.” 

Molly sees reading as more than just a ​“tick box exercise” and highlights the vital role reading plays in fostering personal growth. She said reading for pleasure is at risk of decreasing even more, as ​“lots of adults don’t read either, so they can’t teach kids to enjoy reading”, which highlights why initiatives that encourage reading for pleasure, like the Author Corner project, are more essential than ever.

Discover Molly’s work

One of Molly’s recent projects involved working with primary school children to illustrate her book, Jennifer the Goose. This collaboration demonstrates just one of the many ways Molly is encouraging reading for pleasure.

“The children really engaged with the book during our sessions. We walked around the local shops, discussing what Jennifer could use to unglue her beak, which turned out to be a fun and creative way to bring the story to life.”

Molly’s next book is called Eddie the Duckling and she’s planning a fun launch day for this, where she’ll be wearing a duck costume and hiding around various parts of London.

Through projects like these, Molly demonstrates how storytelling and reading can spark joy and creativity.

Molly’s values resonate with Bookmark’s mission of helping children discover the joy of reading. Whether through creative workshops or interactive book launches, her passion for reading as a tool for personal growth shines through all her work. Through her efforts, Molly continues to inspire children to embrace books as a source of joy and adventure and encourages children to develop a lifelong love for reading.

If you share Molly’s vision for helping children develop a love of reading, learn more about becoming a Bookmark Volunteer.