Hachette Book Group Launches Children's Reading Initiative

Global publisher Hachette Book Group launched a new children’s reading initiative last week to combat the global decline in kids reading. 

The initiative is titled “Raising Readers,” and was launched both as a public service announcement and as a broader project with the involvement of over 50 collaborating book and publishing companies. 

“Raising Readers is Hachette’s urgent and long-term campaign to raise awareness of the decline in number of children reading for fun and encouraging everyone to make reading for enjoyment part of children’s daily lives,” the initiative’s webpage states. “This campaign aims to raise awareness that reading for fun is the single biggest predictor of a child’s future success. It impacts academic results, mental health, wealth, communication skills and ambition.”

Children’s readership has broadly declined in recent years. In 2026 alone, numerous media reports have written about the decrease; the company’s press release references a June report by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, which found that reading for fun among 13-year-olds has declined by nearly half since 2012.

Hachette’s public service announcement, posted to the company’s YouTube page last Tuesday, encourages both kids and parents to step away from the noise of social media and immerse themselves instead into books together. 

In it, a young girl sits absorbed in her phone, scrolling through fast-paced text messages about social media posts. Her father comes into her room and drops off a book for her, asking her if she wants to take a break. 

“FYI, I’m more than a break,” a voice emanating from the book says after a beat. “I can take you on an adventure, crack you up, and inspire you. Come on, take a look.” 

Hachette wrote in a press release that, “Reading to a child for just 10 minutes changes their life.” The initiative includes a pledge for parents and children to commit to reading every day. 

Hachette encourages all members of the book industry, including its own authors, to get involved. Letters from authors who write for adults will be printed at the back of Hachette-published books to share “the importance of encouraging a child’s lifelong love of reading.”

Partners of the Raising Readers project include a variety of collaborators, from national groups like PEN America, to publishers Penguin Random House and Macmillian, to major bookseller Barnes & Noble, as well as smaller organizations like the Brooklyn Book Bodega in New York City and the independent Little Blue Pigeon bookstore in Denver, Colorado.