Nicola Usborne talks to us about the Peter Usborne Primary School Library of the Year Award, and how Usborne Books is continuing her father’s commitment to supporting literacy.
Why do you think primary school libraries are important?
Giving all young children access to books - to build a love of reading, to build literacy, to educate, inform and delight children – is crucial. We know how many children have no books of their own at home; primary school libraries are vital in making books available to all.
What impact do you hope this award will have on schools and their students?
There are so many teachers and librarians doing all they can to create inspiring libraries for their students, often with very stretched resources. We are thrilled to be able to celebrate those spaces and the passionate professionals who work so hard to shape them. I hope that this award will encourage students to feel proud of their school library.
Your father was passionate about school libraries – what would he have been excited about when visiting a school library?
My dad loved going to libraries and thought they were hugely important. He just loved books – and loved seeing children enjoying books. He would immediately get deep into a conversation with a young reader about what books they loved, what their interests were (just like a librarian does!), and what topics they thought Usborne should publish more books on.
Peter Usborne (copyright: Martin Usborne, 2023)
Can you share any memorable experiences or anecdotes about your father's passion for children's literature, education, and/or school libraries?
My dad thought publishing for children was simply the best job he could ever do. He went into children’s publishing when my brother and I were born and always said that his job was an extension of the great privilege and fun of being a parent. He believed that children could understand anything if it was explained in the right way. When he became a parent, he felt that non-fiction books weren’t as exciting as they could have been – and not nearly as fun or engaging as kids’ TV or comics were at that time. He set out to revolutionise the genre, and I really believe he did. He read every word of every book we published and was never happier than hearing that a child had learned something from an Usborne book.
In founding Usborne, your father successfully fostered a love of reading and learning among children by creating great fiction and information books. How do you see the role of fiction and information for young people?
Usborne started out as a non-fiction specialist, because that’s where the biggest gap was when my dad founded the company in the ‘70s. Since then, we’ve expanded into activity books, baby books, and fiction. We apply the same principles to every book we publish: we view each topic or theme through the eyes of a curious child; we ensure that words and pictures work together in perfect harmony to convey information or a story; and we stick to the same high standards in editorial, design, and production. It’s important that children have access to all sorts of books, and that they can pick and choose what appeals to them in that moment. It doesn’t matter what type or topic of book a child reads, only that they are reading. That’s why we create irresistible books for children at every age and stage, across all genres and categories. Functional literacy is obviously vital, but so is absorbing and questioning information, and learning empathy through stories.
Peter Usborne and daughter, Nicola Usborne (copyright: Martin Usborne, 2023)
As well as sponsoring this award, you have other plans to continue your father’s commitment to supporting literacy and education – can you tell us a bit about them?
What he’d have wanted, more than anything, was us all to continue publishing wonderful books at Usborne. He was also very proud of the work that the Usborne Foundation had done and would be delighted that that carries on strongly. I think those are the most important parts of his legacy, which we are all very committed to maintaining. We are still thinking of other ways to celebrate and remember his work. He would be very pleased that we are supporting this prize. We are also going to be providing fixed and mobile libraries in his name at the Royal London Children’s Hospital.
The role of digital literacy is imperative in today’s world, as is reading – how do you see the relationship between reading and digital engagement?
I see a strong future for physical children’s books, as we know that parents and children still seek out books to share, to collect, and to put on a shelf. Books are great value and easy access. Many parents also want their children to spend less time on screen – particularly if they are concerned about the content they might be accessing. However, digital can obviously also be a very good way to deliver learning and reading experiences. At the Usborne Foundation, we chose to work digitally so that we could achieve as much scale and reach as possible with our funding. We have built six very sophisticated learning games called ‘Teach Your Monster …’ (four around reading, one in maths and another to promote healthy eating) that have now been played over half a billion times (and I didn’t mistype that!) around the world. We are all very proud of the impact that these digital games have achieved.
Nicola Usborne is MD of global children's publisher, Usborne. She also co-runs the Usborne Foundation, a charity whose suite of online games, Teach Your Monster, have been played more than 500 million times by children around the world.