A best-selling children’s author has joined a reading campaign to encourage more young people to discover the joy of books.
Cressida Cowell, author of the How to Train Your Dragon series, visited Thomas Buxton Primary School in Bethnal Green to support Amazon’s expanded Literacy Champions volunteer programme during National Volunteers’ Week.
The visit is part of the wider National Year of Reading campaign, which aims to address falling reading enjoyment among children and encourage more people to read for pleasure.
Read more
See inside new food market store in Canary Wharf
East London station to undergo major revamp causing months of travel disruption
Ms Cowell said: "As a children’s author and illustrator who’s been visiting schools and talking to families about books for over 25 years, I have experienced first-hand the effect that reading for enjoyment has. We’re at a crossroads: reading for pleasure is at a crisis point and the National Year of Reading is trying urgently to address this.
"I’m delighted to be at Thomas Buxton Primary School with the Amazon Literacy Champions, talking to the children about the excitement and joy books can bring and encouraging them to be the authors and illustrators of the future."
Recent data from the National Literacy Trust shows only one in three children in the UK now say they read for pleasure, and in 2025, a quarter of 11-year-olds in England left primary school without the reading skills expected for their age.
Amazon has pledged to grow its Literacy Champions network in support of the National Year of Reading’s goal of recruiting 100,000 new reading volunteers by the end of 2026.
Through the scheme, trained Amazon volunteers visit schools and community groups to lead weekly reading sessions and storytelling activities, helping children build confidence and enjoyment around books.
The programme, launched in 2023, will now expand further as part of Amazon’s support for the nationwide campaign.
The visit coincided with the release of Ms Cowell’s latest book, How to Train Your Dragon School: Fight of the Flamestrike, the second title in her current series.
David Hayman, director of the National Year of Reading, said: "Reading together and role-modelling reading can have a hugely positive impact on a child’s confidence, literacy skills and reading enjoyment. We’re incredibly grateful to the thousands of volunteers, including Amazon Literacy Champions, who are already helping children and communities discover the joy of reading through the National Year of Reading campaign."
Further information about Amazon’s involvement in the National Year of Reading can be found at literacytrust.org.uk/about-us/national-year-of-reading-2026.
Share