Reading in a park in Bucharest. Image – Getty: Roberto David
By Porter Anderson, Editor in Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Previous reports:
2017: Scholastics Reading Report for Children and Families: Insights from the US, UK, India and Australia
2019: Scholastic’s “Kids & Family” report: Teens’ reading habits decline in summer
2019: Scholastic’s new report “Kids & Family Reading”: Reading aloud is the order of the day
A survey on the eighth edition
OOur regular readers will remember that in 2017 and 2019 we published Scholastic’s then biennial Reading reports for children and familiesAs with many things, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic intervened, and the regularity of the publication times of the new editions of the reports seems to have been affected. The seventh edition was published in 2019, and this week the company released the eighth edition.
However, in a playful spirit, the company begins its consumer-facing article, based on the latest research, by stating that it “regularly surveys families about reading habits and behavior” and that current events and the social climate may allow for a more consistent pace from now on.
The eighth edition – with some of its points in this “Family Guide” and (we recommend) a more complete summary in this longer Reading report for children and families– may be a little more focused on the positive “reading is great” message than previous editions have been, but it contains trends that are not necessarily in the direction desired by reading and book lovers, especially at a time when children’s book sales have long been declining in Scholastic’s home market, the United States.
Related article: Circana BookScan: The US Print Market January-June. Image – Getty: Mykhaylo Palinchak
Our Circana BookScan report on the US print market from January to June this year reported a decline in children’s book sales of 3.5 million copies compared to the same period last year, with sales of mid-range books showing the largest declines in the American market.
And in 2019, Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report itself placed a lot of emphasis on the “summer slump” in reading, in which “increasing numbers of kids report not reading any books at all during summer vacation.” It also addressed the problems some parents have in finding appropriate reading material for their children—and other parents’ lack of awareness of the difficulties of finding children’s books.
The 2024 Edition: Books to Support Parenting
The newly released edition, which officially launched on Tuesday (August 20), is bluntly described as “designed to support families and make books a part of every child’s coming of age.” And it makes an interesting point about books as tools that parents can and do use to explain issues to their children, sometimes to spark conversations about friction a child might face – such as bullying – and overall to start parent-child conversations.
In fact, media reports have linked the study’s appearance to the fact that there is much discussion in the United States about the mental health of young people. Not surprisingly, Scholastic reports that the study shows that “heavy readers report better mental health than light readers, with light readers reporting higher levels of nervousness and anxiety (50 percent versus 39 percent), sadness and depression (37 percent versus 25 percent), and loneliness (30 percent versus 19 percent).”
“In addition,” the media reports, “data from the National Center for Health Statistics show a significant gap between the level of social and emotional support young adults feel they have and what their parents believe they are capable of.” This point is made in a July 16 report by Deidre McPhillips for CNN, which reports data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.
Related article: Quarto plans Richard V. Reeves’ “Yes, Boys Can!” for Frankfurt. Images: Quarto/Quarry Books
That report found that “teenage girls are less likely than boys to say they always or usually have the support they need, and there is a larger gap in perceptions between teen girls and their parents.” Anyone who has followed the growing influence of researcher Richard V. Reeves, founder of the American Institute for Boys and Men, will not be surprised by this gender difference in the National Center study, but the Scholastic study did not look at gender differences, according to a spokesperson. Publish perspectivesWhen asked, Scholastic provided a statement on reading trends among men and women at home: “Children ages 6 to 17 are more likely to say their mothers enjoy reading (71 percent) than their fathers (43 percent).”
Perhaps the growing emphasis on gender differences and political and social trends surrounding the 2024 American presidential election could encourage Scholastic to ask its researchers to contribute to future editions of the Reading report for children and families.
The methodology is always interesting here. The Scholastic Reading report for children and familiesAccording to the company, as a survey, it is nationally representative and provides survey responses from children and their parents to various questions. This edition of the survey was conducted by Fluent Research between December 13, 2022 and January 6, 2023, with a total sample size of 1,724 parents and children, including 637 parents with children ages five and younger; 1,087 parents with children ages 6 to 17, plus a child ages 6 to 17 from the same household.
“Parents of children ages 6 to 17,” Scholastic told the media, “first answered their survey questions before administering the survey to a randomly selected child in the target age group. The survey sample was assembled and recruited by Ipsos using its nationally representative ‘Knowledge Panel.'”
Key findings selected by Scholastic
Scholastic – which our international readership of publishing professionals knows to be the largest children’s book publisher in the world, with most of its programs and reports focused on the U.S. market – helpfully selects the following points as key findings from the 8th edition of the Reading report for children and families.
At each age surveyed (17 and younger):
- An overwhelming majority of parents (90 percent) agree that books can provide opportunities for conversation.
The early years (5 and younger):
- The majority of parents with infants, toddlers and preschool children ages five and under (79 percent) say they have used children’s books to support their parenting efforts.
- Parents say that books primarily help their children understand feelings and emotions (54 percent) and discover their interests (47 percent).
- It is reported that 51 percent of preschool children ages five and under are read to at home five to seven days a week, compared with only 37 percent of 6- to 8-year-olds and 16 percent of 9- to 11-year-olds.
Primary school years (6 to 11 years):
- Many parents of elementary school-aged children are looking for specific books that can help them talk about different or new experiences their children may face, including dealing with bullying (20 percent) and discussing difficult topics (32 percent).
- 80 percent of parents of 6- to 11-year-olds say it would be helpful to have resources available to support their children in reading, such as questions or discussion prompts about what they are reading (40 percent) or a summary of the books or stories (38 percent).
Middle and high school years (ages 12 to 17):
- Two-thirds of parents of teenagers (63 percent) say they think it is important that their children read books with characters similar to their own and their experiences.
- The majority of parents of teenagers (86 percent) say they believe that books can provide them with opportunities to engage in conversation with their children.
- Most parents of teenagers (69 percent) say they have used books to help their children cope with problems they are experiencing.
- Teens tell survey respondents that they see books as an opportunity for self-reflection. Half of teens surveyed (54 percent) say books have helped them deal with their emotions, including confidence (28 percent), happiness (24 percent) and gratitude (21 percent).
In a commentary accompanying the press release on this material, Deimosa Webber-Bey, director of information services and cultural insights at Scholastic, is quoted as saying: “This new study shows how invaluable books are in supporting communication with children from birth through adolescence to graduation and beyond.
“Books can provide comfort, open portals to faraway places, introduce new concepts, and help when addressing difficult topics. With this new compilation of research, we hope that families will feel empowered to include books in all aspects of their parenting efforts and that books can help parents build lasting bonds with their children.”
You can find more information on children’s books from Publishing Perspectives here, more from us on Scholastic here, more on the US market here, and more on industry statistics here.
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