The Children's Bookshow releases 2024 Impact Report

As a charity, The Children’s Bookshow is dedicated to giving children a rich experience of literature that is designed to spark positive change in their relationship with reading.

Our impact over the past year is a powerful demonstration of how putting books into the hands of children, and giving them access to some of the world’s very best authors and illustrators, can have a profound effect on children’s enthusiasm for reading, as well as on their creativity and self-confidence.

In 2024 our autumn tour reached over 7600 primary school children through live, on-stage events with authors, poets and illustrators including Michael Rosen, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Kwame Alexander, Kate Wakeling, Helen Stephens, Owen Sheers and Sydney Smith. Every child who attended an event left with their own free copy of a book.

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Our theatre events reached 12 cities across the UK, with audiences including children and teachers from many different backgrounds and walks of life. 61% of schools in attendance receive an above average level of pupil premium funding. We collaborated further with schools, to bring 54 in-school workshops to over 1600 children, giving them the opportunity to work directly with an author, poet or illustrator and to explore their own creativity.

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The effects of our work were keenly felt by teachers, who reported their pupils’ excitement in attending Children’s Bookshow events, as well as increased engagement with books and reading within their schools as a direct result of attendance. Teacher feedback highlighted the positive impact of putting enjoyment at the heart of literacy, particularly for pupils who struggle to meet the demands of the curriculum.

Teacher testimonials also revealed how our work can support children's emotional wellbeing. One teacher observed that Bookshow events are safe spaces for students who struggle with academic pressure, while another reported how adopting an editing technique shared by SF Said during an in-school workshop has helped pupils in her class overcome their anxiety and perfectionism around creative work. A particularly moving account described our theatre events as aspirational experiences that expand children's future horizons, with pupils beginning to envision themselves attending university, visiting theatres regularly, or even becoming the writers who "stand on that stage" someday.

Much of this positive work is thanks to the support of our funders, and all the authors, illustrators, poets, publishers and venues who made The Children’s Bookshow 2024 autumn tour possible.

Kate Arafa, Co-Director of The Children’s Bookshow said
“I am so proud of our achievements last year, particularly when considering the difficult financial climate in which we are all operating. We are thankful to all of the teachers who helped to evaluate our work, giving us feedback that helps us to shape our project and improve our offer for children year on year."

You can download the full impact report below: