Ten top tips for getting your child to read more

1. Give books as gifts, not just for birthdays and Christmas, take a new story on holiday or give a book instead of an Easter egg.

1. Subscribe to your child's favourite magazine, or pick up on something that interests them, eg wildlife, sports, hobbies etc. Research the magazine market online together, there is an incredible range of publications out there.

1. Use your local library on a regular basis. Most libraries have holiday competitions to encourage reading volume and many have storytelling or author events too. Be seen to borrow (and read) books yourself.

1. Research your child's favourite authors with them online - many authors have their own site or pages on their publisher's site.

1. Join a book club such as the Puffin Club (yes, it's still going! Anyone remember Fat Puffin and Tomcat?).

1. Encourage your child to read anything they can get their hands on - joke books, comic books graphic novels, poetry books – it's all reading.

1. Search for books on the internet, there are a lot of books out there that can be read or downloaded online.

1. Have family reading time where everyone in the house sits together enjoying books - by the fire, in the garden, in the kitchen, on the beach...

1. Talk about what you read as child, unearth those old Tintin and Asterix books, hand over your well-thumbed copy of Little Women or whatever you enjoyed when you were younger. Talk about why these books were important to you and why you loved them.

1. Get interested in what your child is reading - you could read the same book at the same time and talk about each chapter as you progress through the book, or at the end if your children are older. 

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