Adventure Awaits at Your Library: From Storytime to Strong Minds

This Saturday is the beginning of The Reading Agency’s 2025 Summer Reading Challenge in England and Wales. This year’s challenge - based around the theme of ‘Story Garden- Adventures in Nature and the Great Outdoors’ - gives children the opportunity to visit our local libraries and celebrate nature through reading.

Getting children reading is very important, especially given that the UK is facing a literacy crisis. According to the National Literacy Trust, the number of children who read for pleasure is at its lowest in 20 years. This decline has long-term consequences for these children throughout their lives, with The Reading Agency reporting that 8.5 million UK adults struggle to read.

The Summer Reading Challenge is a great way to break this cycle and get our young people reading. 95% of children who take part say they enjoy reading weekly afterwards, and 100,000 people joined libraries following the challenge last year alone. Beyond improving reading ability, the challenge boosts confidence and skills for 70% of participants.

In Parliament this April, I met with Debbie and Amanda from The Reading Agency. We discussed the growing mental health crisis, and the role reading can play in tackling it. The Centre for Mental Health estimated the cost of mental ill health in England at £300 billion in 2022. Encouragingly, 44% of regular readers say reading improves their mental health, and one in three adults want to read more about managing their wellbeing.

This is why they created ‘Reading Well’ a national books on prescription programme to support people to understand and manage their health and wellbeing. Their recommended reading covers topics like mental health and dementia, with options for all age groups. Each collection is chosen through a robust selection process working with people living with that specific challenge, relevant professional bodies and leading charities in the field.

The Lib Dems have long campaigned for better mental health support, and community initiatives like The Reading Agency’s work are part of helping people thrive.

I would encourage you - regardless of age - to get to your local library this summer. Whilst the Summer Reading Challenge is there for our youngsters, the pleasures and benefits of reading are there for all of us to embrace.

Go to: www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk or one of our brilliant Mid Sussex libraries to get started.