Francesca Simon Supports National Literacy Trust Libraries for Primaries Campaign

FREE TO USE IMAGE SUPPLIED BY THE NATIONAL LITERACY TRUST: Dame Jacqueline Wilson and Sebastian Faulks and illustrator Axel Scheffler (far left) joined a group of fellow authors in Parliament Square this afternoon (8/11/23) to show their support for the ‘Libraries in Primaries’ campaign. There are over 750,000 children in the UK who do not have a library at their primary school and the campaign aims to change that.

Francesca Simon is backing the leading reading charity, The National Literacy Trust, and their new campaign ‘Libraries for Primaries’. The initiative, run with Penguin Books, aims to ensure that every child at primary school has access to a dedicated library or reading space.

Francesca visited Portcullis House in Westminster on 8th November 2023 to celebrate the anniversary of the campaign, along with other authors, funders and partner organisations.

According to research by Libraries for Primaries, over 750,000 children in the UK do not have a library at their primary school and are missing out on the opportunity to read for pleasure. Already, the NLT and partners have transformed 670 primary school libraries, but more needs to be done to reach other schools. The charity is calling for the government to commit to match fund private investment to create more primary school libraries.

Find out more about the campaign and the research behind it here.

Fabulous Francesca Facts

"Families are great sources of comedy because they are about people trapped together. Only the parents chose to be there and the rest of you are stuck with these people that you might not necessarily like"

"Nobody feels emotions like children and with Henry, the war is constant and total. Anyone who has lived in a family has these shared experiences - the car journey from hell, nits or vomiting"

"I’ve never met a child who doesn’t love hearing stories. It’s a good way of introducing them to books and it’s a great way of getting them to understand stories that they might not be able to read themselves"

"We all love stories, it all helps making sense of the world"

"Horrid Henry speaks to the impish, rebellious child in all of us"

"My first book was called Papa Forgot and was published in 1993"

"I’ve written over fifty books"

"My birthday is 23rd February"

"I’m a bit scared of the dark"

"My hobbies are reading, cooking and going to the theatre"

"My favourite author is Anthony Trollope"

"My most disliked food is beetroot"

"My favourite colour is aquamarine"

"My favourite food is scallops"