Ministers urged to add audiobooks to England’s new schools curriculum

Charity calls for move after poll finds crisis' levels of reading for pleasure and rise in 8- to 18-year-olds enjoying audio

From The Sheep-Pig to His Dark Materials: the best audiobooks for children and teens

The government has been urged to include audiobooks in the new schools curriculum in England, after research showed fewer children were reading books for pleasure and more were listening to them instead.

A poll by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) found that children's enjoyment of listening to audio and podcasts had risen compared with the previous year, overtaking their enjoyment of reading for the first time since the charity began asking about audio in 2020.