New books designed to keep kids turning pages will soon be hitting shelves.
So Your Kid’s Next Read (YKNR) is partnering with Affirm Press for new junior fiction series Your Next Read, to build the bridge between learning to read and choosing to read.
The chapter books will strike a balance between child satisfaction and parental approval to supplement the science-based approach to reading education.
It will support newly independent readers and those who might be struggling.
Last year’s Grattan Report revealed that one in three Australian children struggled with reading proficiency, and recent NAPLAN results showed a decline in literacy.
Teacher librarian Megan Daley and authors Allison Tait and Allison Rushby founded YKNR in 2017 as a Facebook community.
Today YKNR also includes a podcast and helps young readers find their perfect next book, promotes Australian creators, helps parents and caregivers to foster literacy, and advocates for educators and children’s literature.
The YKNR team said the Your Next Read series offered a wide reading experience for young readers.
“Your Next Read will provide adults with a one-stop shop for quality books for junior readers, while offering young readers books that are fun, exciting, and aimed at building a love of literature,” they said.
The series will launch next year with 10 titles across two series – Silver for ages five to eight and Gold for ages seven to nine – and will expand by 24 titles in 2027.
Authors and illustrators involved include Peter Cheong, Jane Godwin, Jade Goodwin, Anita Heiss, Kylie Howarth, Tom Jellett, Maddy Mara, Jasmin McGaughey, Katrina Nannestad, Cheryl Orsini, AL Tait, Kate and Jol Temple, and more.
The series will cover a variety of genres, themes, and perspectives.
Simon and Schuster Australia and Affirm Press children’s publishing director, Tash Besliev, said they were working from the belief that every child deserved the chance to fall in love with reading.
“Meeting children wherever they are on their reading journey, and doubling down on stories that spark joy and build confidence to keep them coming back for their next read again and again,” she said.
