Here's a scene that's becoming familiar in Reception classrooms across the UK: a four-year-old picks up a picture book, pinches the page between two tiny fingers, and waits. They're trying to zoom in. When nothing happens, they look baffled — or frustrated — and put the book down.

It's easy to smile at. But a major new survey suggests it's no longer just a quirky anecdote. It's a pattern, and educators are worried.

The Numbers That Should Make Us Stop and Think

A school readiness survey carried out by the charity Kindred Squared — polling over 1,000 primary school teachers in England and Wales — found that nearly a third of children starting school in 2025 couldn't use a book properly. Not reading it. Not understanding the words. Simply using it — turning pages, holding it the right way, understanding that it's a physical object you interact with differently from a screen.

Some children tried to swipe the pages. Others tapped them, waiting for something to happen. A separate poll by The Works found that more than a third of children attempt to pinch pages to zoom in, or hunt for an 'on' button.

Kindred Squared's chief executive Felicity Gillespie described it plainly: "This is no longer just a classroom issue; it is a systemic crisis."

Meanwhile, teachers reported losing over two hours of teaching time per day because pupils lacked basic school-readiness skills. The UK government has set a target for 75% of children to be school ready by 2028. Right now, only 63% are.

What's Behind It?

The evidence points clearly to screen saturation in the earliest years. Nearly half of children aged 0–8 have already watched short-form video content on platforms like TikTok or YouTube Shorts — formats designed for instant engagement, not sustained attention. Four in ten children in the US have their own tablet by the age of two.

When a child's entire experience of content has been passive, responsive, and interactive — screens that react, videos that autoplay, apps that respond to every tap — a static page of ink can feel broken. Why won't it do anything?

This isn't about blaming parents. The cost of living crisis is real, working hours are long, and screens are the path of least resistance when you're exhausted. But the consequences are landing in our classrooms.

Books Are Not Just About Reading

Here's something worth saying loudly: the ability to use a book is not the same as the ability to read one — and both matter enormously.

Before a child learns to decode letters and words, they learn that books have a front and a back, that pages turn one way, that stories have a beginning, middle and end, that you sit with something and follow it through. These are not small things. They are the foundations of literacy, patience, and focused thinking.

When children miss this stage — when books are alien objects before they've even started school — the gap they're trying to close is much bigger than phonics lessons can fix alone.

This Is Where Little Book Factory Comes In

At Little Book Factory, we believe the most powerful thing you can do for a child's relationship with books is to put them at the centre of one.

We help children write and publish their own real, printed books. Not a worksheet. Not a screen activity. A physical book — with their name on the cover, their words on the pages, their story in their hands.

What happens when a child has made a book? They understand it. They're proud of it. They read it again and again. They show it to everyone. And crucially, they understand what a book is — because they built one.

Creating a book teaches children to:

• Think about structure, sequence, and storytelling
• Take ownership of their writing and ideas
• Experience the physical reality of the printed page
• See themselves as authors and readers — not just consumers of content

When a child has written their own book, they don't try to zoom in on it. They treasure it.

What Teachers and Parents Can Do Right Now

The Kindred Squared report called for parents to receive better information earlier — ideally before their child turns four. Here are some simple, evidence-backed steps:

• Read physical books together every day — even just 20 minutes. It's the single strongest predictor of school success.
• Let children handle books from the very beginning — board books, picture books, anything with pages to turn.
• Talk about what you're reading — point, ask questions, make it a conversation, not a performance.
• Let children make their own books — even scribbled pages stapled together. Authorship builds readers.
• Limit passive screen time in the early years, especially short-form video that trains the brain to expect instant stimulation.

A Generation That Writes Will Read

The children swiping at book pages aren't broken. They're just unfamiliar. And familiarity comes from experience — from holding, touching, turning, and yes, making.

At Little Book Factory, we think every child deserves to be an author. Not because it's a nice creative exercise, but because it fundamentally changes how they see themselves in relation to the written word.

In a world where screens are everywhere and attention is the scarcest resource, giving a child a book they wrote themselves is one of the most quietly revolutionary things you can do.

Ready to make a book with your class or your child? Visit our homepage to get started. 

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Little Book Factory helps schools and families publish children's own written and illustrated books. Real books. Real authors. Real pride.