Cowell: Reading for pleasure is so important

Primary school teachers can register for free resources and parents can nominate schools by visiting Premier League Primary Stars 

For children's author Cressida Cowell, who wrote the 'How To Train Your Dragon' series, reading is a vital part of a youngster's development.

"There's a fantastic statistic which I love," she says. "The two key factors in a child's later economic success, let alone their accolades or anything else, are parental involvement in education and reading for pleasure.

"However, here's the problem. How do you get kids reading for pleasure? That has never been more of a challenge than today. The films, the telly, the internet - the competition is tough."

The key, Cressida feels, is to relate books to a subject children are passionate about.

She has been involved in the development of the new Premier League Primary Stars programme,  which uses the appeal of professional football clubs to inspire children aged 5-11 during their school studies.

The initiative offers free teaching resources, and Cressida has helped to create English lesson plans and activities.

"I know from practical experience - I've had books made into films," she says. "Children think films are really cool. They watch the film, they're engaged with the characters, and therefore they think they'll try my books.

See: 'PL Primary Stars makes English relevant'

"You associate books there with movies, something exciting. Associating books with football - again, children love football.

"That's what we have to overcome in children's minds - that books are something 'schooly' and boring, and something sometimes that makes them feel stupid."

Cressida is thrilled that the PL Primary Stars programme is getting 33,000 books into children's hands, distributing them for free to schools who sign up for the initiative.

"Primary schools in this country are closing their libraries," she says. "How are you going to become a reader for pleasure if you can't get your hands on a book? So 33,000 free books is what [the Premier League] have given out.

"They've been working with the National Literacy Trust to do this - a very practical and also research-based organisation - so they've chosen the right books that are modern and exciting and children want to read, not just about football.

See: 'PL Primary Stars helps make maths cool'

"My hope is it's going to be the seed for something, for people to realise we've got to reopen that school library. We've got to get parents recognising how important it is that children read for pleasure.

"I would say there is no such thing as a kid who can't be a reader, who can't in the end be excited about books. It's just that they haven't found the right book yet."

Having launched last month, the PL Primary Stars initiative has been advertised on TV. Players including Theo Walcott and Eric Dier are seen joining children to recite T.H. Palmer's poem 'Try, Try Again'.

It is a message Cressida can relate to.

"One of my kids wasn't a big reader," she says. "She was into netball and actually a big Arsenal fan. But I couldn't get her to read and I'm an author. I ought to be able to.

"But I kept on persisting. I'm going back to the video there - there's such an important message which is try, try again. Never give up.

"I kept on presenting books to her, and reading in a casual, this-is-all-fun kind of way. When she was about 11 or 12 she suddenly realised books are wonderful, and now that kid wants to read English at university. So those would be my tips - try and try again."