Oxford University Press (OUP) has revealed plans for its national roadshow as part of the launch of its Raise a Reader campaign. The three-year Raise a Reader initiative, which was announced last month, is supported by celebrities including Alesha Dixon and Louise Pentland and aims to provide children and young people with the tools and opportunities to become lifelong readers in the wake of the pandemic.

To address findings from new consumer and educator research exploring the barriers to becoming a life-long readers, the Raise a Reader campervan will visit ten locations across England with lower levels of literacy. The campervan – packed full of free books, exciting activities, and engaging reading resources – will tour schools, bookshops and public spaces on a nationwide celebration of books and reading from Monday 31 October to Friday 11 November.

The campervan will visit Manchester on Monday 7 November with Corrine Averiss, author of the acclaimed Move Mountain, A Dot in the Snow and A Song in the Mist, visiting East Ward Community School in Bury, supported by the Madeleine Lindley bookstore, and Old Hall Drive Academy in Manchester. Sally Nicholls, the prize-winning YA author behind the inspiring Things a Bright Girl Can Do, will visit William Hulme’s Grammar School in Manchester.

Corrine Averiss said: ‘Raising a reader is not just about progress in reading skills – if that’s all it was, children learning to read would think of books as a hollow decoding challenge – rated and assessed. Raising a reader is as much about sharing your own love of books, making them part of your home, and making time to read together. Reading stories to your child opens up that imaginative space to reveal the life-affirming and life-enhancing treasure inside: excitement, comfort, escape, reassurance – something to tickle your funny bones or completely change your mind. Once they discover that with you, they will hopefully go on to seek it out for themselves and their reading ‘progress’ will have an intrinsic motivating force behind it.’

Leading OUP children’s authors and illustrators, such as illustrator of the iconic Winnie and Wilbur picture books Korky Paul and author of the global best-selling Isadora Moon series Harriet Muncaster, will join the tour at each further stop to inspire children with engaging workshops and storytelling sessions. In addition, members of the OUP team will be sharing resources to help break down the barriers to reading for pleasure.

Support for the Raise a Reader campaign:

Author and TV personality Alesha Dixon is supporting the Raise a Reader campaign:

‘Reading has been a passion for me ever since I was a girl at school, and becoming a mum has been an inspiration to pass that love of books on to my own children. I’m proud to support the Raise a Reader initiative so that all children will have the opportunity to get as excited about reading as I am!’

Author, Creator and Raise a Reader Ambassador, Louise Pentland said:

‘I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Raise a Reader. Reading and children’s literacy has been a passion project of mine for many years – it’s fundamental and these latest stats only prove how important it really is. Ultimately the goal is to help as many children as possible become lifelong readers – and there are many ways to do this – from education, to access, to understanding. Reading for pleasure has quite simply been a magical part of my life, and my children’s lives – so to help open this door to other children [and adults] simply fills me with joy.’

TV & Radio Broadcaster and Raise a Reader Ambassador, Sonali Shah, said:

‘I’m delighted to be supporting Raise a Reader. Reading means so much to me and my own family – it can bring joy, escapism and comfort, it’s a wonderful activity to do together and I really love taking time out of our busy lives to share that precious reading time with my children. I try to get my kids reading whenever and however I can – whether it’s while we’re travelling somewhere, relaxing before bedtime or by letting them feel independent by choosing what book we read – even if we’ve read it dozens of times before! There are so many ways to raise a reader for life – do what’s right for you and your family, have confidence and most of all, have fun!’