Reading today doesn’t look the way it did a generation ago. It’s very different from when many of us were kids. There are more than 4 channels on the TV for a start, and most children I know - at least in secondary schools - have a mobile phone stuck in the palm of their hands. But we can’t keep fearing it. We must embrace it.
Children now encounter stories in many forms: print, digital, audio and multimodal formats. They move fluidly between books, screens and headphones. Multiple devices. Multiple ways. And for many, this flexibility isn’t a distraction from reading - for some it’s the reason any reading happens at all.
The National Year of Reading recognises that if we want to rebuild reading for pleasure, we have to meet readers where they are. Not where we wish they were. It’s not about hankering after the past. It’s about embracing the future. And the technology. Using it. Learning from it. Just because I am still wedded to the physicality of books, in love with the aesthetic of the printed book, doesn’t mean our children want to be.
Reading has always evolved
Storytelling has never stood still. From oral traditions to manuscripts, from printed books to digital text, reading has continually adapted to technology, culture and everyday life.
What matters isn’t the format, it’s the connection. The moment a story grips you. The moment you are pulled in, and don’t want to retreat. The sense of immersion, curiosity, comfort or recognition that keeps you coming back.
Today’s children are navigating a world rich in choice. Rich in options. Rich in storytelling. Diversity of formats is not lowering the bar, it’s widening the door. It’s engaging them where they are at. Supporting it. Embracing it. Because if we don’t, the reading for pleasure stats will continue to decline. And we’ll be sat here wondering in years to come how the heck we let it happen.
Children read differently now
Children’s reading lives are no longer linear. A child might:
- Listen to an audiobook on the way to school
- Read a graphic novel at breaktime
- Explore an ebook at home
- Share a picture book or poem at bedtime
- Watch (and read) a TikTok as they scroll their social media feed
Each of these experiences builds language, comprehension and engagement. For some children - particularly reluctant readers, dyslexic readers, neurodivergent readers or those with limited access to physical books - audio and digital formats are often the gateway, not the alternative.
Validating these routes matters. When children feel their reading choices are respected, they are far more likely to continue reading. And to build confidence as readers.
Audiobooks: opening doors to stories
Audiobooks are a powerful part of modern reading. They allow children to access stories beyond their current decoding ability. They build vocabulary and develop listening skills. They enable children (and adults) to experience the rhythm and emotion of language.
For families, audiobooks also make shared reading possible in new ways. On car journeys, at bedtime, or during quiet moments together. Listening becomes a shared experience, not a solitary one. Something to be enjoyed together. Experienced together.
Through LoveReading’s partnership with Audiobooks.com, readers can easily discover and access a wide range of audiobooks alongside print books and ebooks - ensuring that access to stories isn’t limited by format preference or reading level.
Print, digital and multimodal reading
Printed books remain central. For many of us they give a focus, tactility and a sense of ownership that many readers treasure. Me, absolutely included. Ebooks bring portability, flexibility and accessibility, allowing children to adjust font size, spacing and brightness to suit their needs.
Multimodal reading - where text, image, sound and interaction combine - reflects how many children now engage with information and stories. Far from undermining literacy, these formats can deepen understanding and sustain engagement, especially when used alongside traditional reading. Take a look at the NLT’s recent research pieces on multimodal reading.
Reading across genres, cultures and voices
Modern reading isn’t just about how children read — it’s about what they read.
Valuing diverse formats goes hand in hand with valuing diverse stories. Helping children find books that speak to them. Across genres, cultures, identities and experiences. When children can choose how and what they read, reading becomes inclusive rather than exclusive. It becomes expansive rather than restrictive.
Whether it’s stories about disability, family diversity, neurodiversity, children in care, young carers, children living in poverty or stories about black history. They all matter.
Every route into reading matters. And every reader’s journey is different.
How LoveReading supports modern reading
Across LoveReading, LoveReading4Kids and LoveReading4Schools, we actively champion all routes into reading.
We do this by:
Recommending and offering print books, ebooks and audiobooks in one trusted ecosystem
Partnering with Audiobooks.com to expand access to audio storytelling
Curating recommendations across formats, genres and ages
Validating reading choice rather than prescribing a single path
Supporting schools and families to embrace modern reading habits
By recognising that reading today is plural - not singular - we help broaden participation and keep readers engaged for longer.
Broadening participation, not narrowing it
If we insist that reading only “counts” in one format, we risk excluding the very readers we most want to reach. When we value all routes into reading, we open doors. Doors that had perhaps before been closed. For non-readers, reluctant readers, confident readers, returning readers and lifelong readers alike.
The future of reading isn’t about choosing between print and digital, text and audio, traditional and modern.
It’s about choice. Access. Engagement.
And ensuring every child can find their way into stories in the format that works for them.
More in the Year of Reading series:
Access and Equity: Why Not Every Child Starts With the Same Books
Reading as a Lifelong Skill: Building the Skill - and the Will - to Read
Family, Community & Place: Why Reading Thrives When We Do It Together
Partnership & Collective Action: Why Reading Needs All of Us
Voice, Agency & Representation: Why Stories Shape Who We Become
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