Book Week is kicking off this week in the annual effort to draw more people into reading. 

Australia’s literacy is slipping year-on-year, nearing the bottom of the heap globally, leaving 44 per cent of Australian adults reading at a primary school ability.

With such concerning numbers, Brian Caswell, Dean of Research and Program Development at MindChamps Early Learning & PreSchool, told Neil Breen any way to get kids interacting with language should be considered.

“In the modern world, which is advancing so quickly and changing so quickly, the ability to read is actually more important than it’s ever been.

“You can’t change the world we’ve created for our kids … but it doesn’t mean they can’t function more effectively in that world if they’re better readers.”

But the efforts shouldn’t stop when Book Week ends.

“You can’t just encourage books one week a year – it’s got to be a 365-day process.”

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Image: Getty