Sydney mum hopes new business will inspire a generation of readers and help build a smarter Australia

March 2016, Sydney: Reading aloud to your children is the single most important thing parents can do to encourage language development. Indeed, international studies show that sharing books with young children before they go to school greatly improves their chances of developing good literacy skills. 

Sadly, however, recent Australian research into parents’ understanding of the importance of reading to very young children has revealed that more than a quarter of parents are not aware of the positive impact of reading aloud.

Championing the importance of reading

Speaking as ambassador for News Corp’s recent ‘Raise A Reader’ campaign, Jackie French, the Australian Children’s Laureate, author of more than 170 books and 2015 Senior Australian of the Year, believes high standards of literacy may even be crucial to maintaining a strong Australian economy.

“Reading is the gateway for the future of our children and the planet,” Ms French says.

Sydney-based Mum, Lizzy Fowler, believes her new venture, BookWormz – a monthly book subscription box service for children aged 0-7 - will help excite children and - just as importantly - parents when it comes to reading, and go some way to establish a new generation of book lovers.

A former editor and writer, Lizzy left her city-based job in 2013 to become a mum. Two daughters (and hundreds of picture books) later and she has recently overseen the launch of BookWormz, alongside her husband, Chris.

'I hope that, through BookWormz, we can inspire a generation of book-lovers and introduce more parents to the joy of reading to their children,’ she says. ‘It’s so easy – and totally understandable – to sit your kids in front of the TV every evening but, through BookWormz, we want to encourage that all important, one-on-one time spent reading new books together.’

Building a smarter Australia

According to a report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, outside health and housing, encouraging a child to read and keeping them reading is arguably the single most important thing that can be done to influence positive outcomes in young people’s lives – socially, culturally, educationally and economically.

'There are so many reasons why children need to read and be read to,’ Lizzy adds. ‘Sitting down to read your child a story will not only help their language development and spark their imagination, but it also offers a wonderful time to just sit, read, listen and talk. Books start conversations.’

BookWormz, which will be supported by a Kickstarter campaign later this month, is Australia’s first book subscription box service designed exclusively for children. Whilst subscription boxes have enjoyed something of a boom in Australia over the past few years, book subscription boxes are, until now, a relatively untouched market.

Through the BookWormz website, parents and gift-givers can sign up to a one-, three- or six-month subscription, choosing a box that is age-appropriate to their little one. From May this year, ‘little learners’ across Australia will receive their BookWormz Box in the post, personally addressed, each containing two carefully selected books and one complementary gift designed to spark creativity and imagination through play. Each box also contains a parent-card, designed to help parents get the most from the time they spend reading to their children, and a monthly BookWormz colouring competition to complete and share in an effort to win future boxes.

'Millions of people around the world don't have access to books and are unable to read. Here in Australia, we are lucky to live in a world full of books, with new titles published every month. Through BookWormz, I want to make it easy to bring these books into the home, and channel the excitement of receiving a gift directly into reading,’ explains Lizzy.

'I have extremely happy memories of being read to as a child - I devoured the magical worlds that existed inside the pages of books - and now, as a parent, I am finding just as much joy in introducing these worlds to my daughters. I believe BookWormz will not only inspire children, but also support the parent-child relationship, by carving time each month - and ideally each day - to explore new stories and adventures.'

Each month, Lizzy works alongside Australian publishers and distributors to select the very best new books for each age category (0-2, 3-5 and 6-7), using her editorial experience and passion for words to ensure a carefully curated box your child will love.

Visit www.bookwormz.com.au to find out more about the service and to sign up. You can also follow BookWormz on Instagram (bookwormzbox) and Facebook (/bookwormz). ENDS

Contacts:

For quotes or interviews, call 0430925028 or email info@bookwormz.com.au

About BookWormz

BookWormz is an Australian book subscription box service for children aged 0 to 7. Through the delivery of carefully selected books each month, BookWormz strives to inspire a new generation of book lovers, channelling the excitement of receiving a gift into age-appropriate books.