Marcus Rashford: Footballer to launch a book club to help kids
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Rashford is well known on the pitch but now is now highly regarded for his charity work too
Marcus Rashford is launching a book club in June.
The England and Manchester United striker says he wants to encourage children from disadvantaged backgrounds to find the joy in reading.
He has teamed up with Macmillan Children's Books, which has donated 50,000 books for kids to take home and keep.
The book club will work closely with 850 primary schools across England and Scotland, which are supported by the food charity Magic Breakfast.
Rachael Anderson, head of schools at Magic Breakfast, which offers healthy breakfasts to around 170,000 children every school day said: "We know children at our partner schools will be delighted to have a Marcus Book Club book of their own to take home and keep, and this will help inspire a new generation of children to discover the joy of reading."
Across the UK there are children who don't have access to books at home because some families cannot afford to buy them.
In 2019, the National Literacy Trust found that that 383,775 children do not own a single book.
This can have a huge impact on children's learning.
For too long, the joy of reading has been restricted by whether or not a family has the contingency budget to purchase books. The children who often miss out are those on free school meals and users of breakfast clubs, who more than likely need fiction, and non-fiction, to escape reality from time to time. We haven't been affording these children the option of reading for fun, but that changes today.
Do you read at home?
The first book club read will be "A Dinosaur Ate My Sister" by Pooja Puri.
Rashford himself will be publishing his own children's book in late May called You Are A Champion: Unlock Your Potential, Find Your Voice And Be The BEST You Can Be which is aimed at children aged 10 and over.
- Published2 March 2020
- Published21 February 2020
