The UK-based National Literacy Trust has declared 2026 as the National Year of Reading. Of course, this is something we very much approve of here at Teach Your Monster. Designed to help people discover the joy of reading, their  ‘go all in’ approach aims to do this by tapping into reading via what you enjoy in life, like movies and music, with the aim to expand minds, build confidence and fuel creativity.

It’s not just in the UK where we’re seeing declines in reading skills. A recent study found the percentage of Americans who report that they spend time reading for pleasure has dropped by a whopping 40% over the last 20 years (2003 – 2023). Reading for pleasure is especially important for kids, as Daisy Fancourt, a professor of psychology and epidemiology at University College London, states that reading:

“supports not only language and literacy, but empathy, social bonding, emotional development and school readiness.”

Reading is also one of the most accessible routes for improving general well-being too, with reading as a

“vital health-enhancing behaviour for every group within society, with benefits across the life-course.”

Reading with children is one of the most promising routes for slowing or even reversing this declining trend in ‘Reading for Pleasure’, so we fully support this year as a time to really knuckle down and encourage reading, of all kinds! As you may know, our pilot game, Teach Your Monster to Read, has helped millions of children start their reading journey and support the learning and comprehension of letter sounds. As times have changed and the importance of reading is more prevalent than ever, we need to change too. 

If you didn’t know, we have been hard at work making a new version of Teach Your Monster to Read. We know the process of learning to read is fundamental to fostering enjoyment of reading. With this new game, we can build on our experience and knowledge of running Teach Your Monster to Read and incorporate the latest research and teaching techniques.

We can’t wait to see the impact that this will have on kids’ learning. It’s still a work-in-progress, and you can follow along with its development by reading our new development blog, ‘Making Monster Magic’.

For older or more established readers, our game Reading for Fun presents an exciting opportunity to adventure through a magical world of reading, collecting books to read from your virtual bookshelf anytime! Why not use the game as an opportunity to choose and read a book together? There’s a read-aloud feature, so you can be read to, if you’re feeling a bit tired at the end of the day. Discover more about Reading for Fun today.

Find out more about the National Year of Reading here.

Read more about the American Reading Study here.

Top Photo by Mark Zamora on Unsplash