One of the key messages from the 2024 Bookseller’s Children’s Conference was that less and less children are reading for pleasure in the UK. Rebecca McNally, keynote speaker at the conference, advocated for increased government funding for libraries and schools, while praising the actions of organisations and charities which work to bridge the divide between disadvantaged children and access to books (McNally 2024). What she did not mention, however, was the appeal of digital media to children, and how this might increase their interest in reading for pleasure.
Studies have found that e-books and audiobooks consistently appeal to children who otherwise might not enjoy traditional reading (National Literary Trust 2023). This was particularly the case for boys with the lowest level of reading engagement, and who have historically enjoyed reading less than girls (National Literary Trust 2023; gov.uk 2015). It clear that expanding into the digital world, be it through e-books or audiobooks, should be a priority for children’s publishers, schools, and parents alike.
Audiobooks are a key part of this digitalisation movement, but options that work for adults may not necessarily be the best choice for children. Spotify now offers up to 15 hours a month of audiobook listening with its Premium subscription, and Audible has many options across a range of plans (Spotify 2024). Both these options, however, have downsides for parents, namely advertising and difficulty overseeing what kind of content children are consuming (Tarrant 2024).
This problem inspired Yoto and Voxblock, two screen-free audio listening devices. Neither of these devices require WIFI access, a subscription, an account, or run any kind of advert. Instead, they run on cartridges akin to game consoles of decades past. Audiobooks are a key part of this digitalisation movement, but options that work for adults may not necessarily be the best choice for children. Spotify now offers up to 15 hours a month of audiobook listening with its Premium subscription, and Audible has many options across a range of plans (Spotify 2024). Both these options, however, have downsides for parents, namely advertising and difficulty overseeing what kind of content children are consuming (Tarrant 2024).
This problem inspired Yoto and Voxblock, two screen-free audio listening devices. Neither of these devices require WIFI access, a subscription, an account, or run any kind of advert. Instead, they run on cartridges akin to game consoles of decades past.
They are not simply novelty devices. Jessica Tarrant, Content Director at Yoto, claimed in 2024 that their revenue was “doubling year on year”, growing particularly in the US (Tarrant 2024). Voxblock co-founder, Rebecca Lundgren, also outlined how accessible her platform is to publishers. No particular format is needed to turn pre-existing audio into a Voxblock publication, so there is no unnecessary work on their behalf (Lundgren 2024).
Yoto starts at £59.99; Voxblock at £39.99. These are not inconsiderate sums when considering encouraging children from disadvantaged backgrounds to read. Voxblock provides a variety of packages for schools, but schools have less budgets than ever to work with. On both these platforms, books are more expensive than their paperback equivalents. On Yoto, each Harry Potter novel ranges from £17.99 to £32.99, while in paperback retail at £9.99 (Yoto 2024). On Voxblock, Pratchett’s A Colour of Magic is priced at £13.99, while in paperback retails at £10.99 (Voxblock 2024). This is not an inherently bad thing, but their price points make both platforms murky solutions to disadvantaged children’s access to books.
Accessibility issues aside, both these audio platforms are demonstrating that the reading landscape can evolve, as it has to, in order to meet the demands of children. Yoto’s acquisition of the Harry Potter series is a particularly promising sign given its prior exclusive deal with Audible (Tarrant 2024). Several panellists at the conference were however, frustrated that VAT still applies to audiobooks, despite e-books becoming exempt in 2020 (gov.uk 2020). This does seem an unfair barrier to making products cheaper, and therefore more accessible to consumers. Those present hoped that the new Prime Minister would address this as soon as possible (Herbertson 2024; Lundgren 2024).
Bibliography:
Cummins, C; David, A; de Silva, S; Galway, M; Hicks, D. The reading crisis: time for solutions. [online] The Bookseller’s Children’s Conference 2024 [accessed 30 September 2024].
gov.uk. 2015. Research evidence on reading for pleasure: Research into how and why children read for pleasure and evidence for how to promote it. [online] Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c18d540f0b61a825d66e9/reading_for_pleasure.pdf [accessed 5 October 2024].
gov.uk. 2020. Guidance: Zero rate of VAT for electronic publications. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/zero-rate-of-vat-for-electronic-publications [accessed 20 October 2024].
Jones, P; Herbertson, C; Lundgren, R; Fairbrother, K; Tarrant, J; Capitalising on Audio. [online] The Bookseller’s Children’s Conference 2024 [accessed 30 September 2024].
McNally, R. 2024. Winning Kids Back. [online] The Bookseller’s Children’s Conference 2024. [accessed 30 September 2024].
National Literary Trust. 2023. Using ebooks to support reading for pleasure in 2023: A survey of primary school teachers. [online] Available at: https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/using-ebooks-to-support-reading-for-pleasure-in-2023/ [accessed 19 October 2024].
Spotify. Audiobooks in Premium: Get lost in great stories. [online] Available at https://www.spotify.com/uk/audiobooks/ [accessed 20 October 2024].
Yoto. Harry Potter. [online] Available at https://uk.yotoplay.com/harrypotter [accessed 20 October 2024].
Images:
[Cover image] Clermont Library. 12 Fantastic Reasons to Listen to Audiobooks. [online] Available at: https://clermontlibrary.org/12-reasons-to-listen-to-audiobooks/ [accessed 21 October 2024].
Jones, P; Herbertson, C; Lundgren, R; Fairbrother, K; Tarrant, J; Capitalising on Audio. [online screenshot] The Bookseller’s Children’s Conference 2024 [accessed 30 September 2024].
Voxblock. The Colour of Magic. [online] Available at: https://voxblock.co.uk/products/the-colour-of-magic [accessed 20 October 2024].
Yoto. The Yoto Mini. [online] Available at https://uk.yotoplay.com/yoto-mini [accessed 20 October 2024].
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