Every child can be a reader.

Barrington Stoke is a UK based publisher that seeks to break down barriers to reading.

There can be many reasons why a child doesn’t develop good literacy skills first time round. Barrington Stoke’s approach is designed by experts to combat these factors:

DYSLEXIA, which can make it hard to recognise and remember words and letters. Our font gives each letter a distinct shape and encourages the eye onwards. Our layout makes sure there’s no crowding. Our paper minimises confusing show-through.

IRLEN SYNDROME, where words and letters can seem to ‘jump around’. Our tinted pages reduce glare and visual stress, and can still be used with coloured overlays.

SHORT ATTENTION SPANS, HYPERACTIVITY AND SIMPLE RELUCTANCE can stop kids picking up a book. Our list includes lots of humour, sport and action themes, and we use fast-moving openings and cliffhangers to reel them in and keep them reading.

LOW SELF-ESTEEM can impact heavily on reading confidence. We match content and design appropriate to a reader’s actual age with language at a younger level. Crucially, our authors are the mainstream bestsellers their peers are also reading.

EAL LEARNERS can find complex literary conventions confusing. We reduce these and pack our books with speech. Lots of titles have illustrations to help with understanding.

DID YOU KNOW ...

• that black text on white paper can hurt sensitive eyes, while off-white paper helps?

• that careful spacing between letters and lines can help new and struggling readers?

• that justified text can mean readers get lost on the page?

• that many young readers, parents and carers feel more confident about opening a book if it has clear, manageable chapters to give natural ‘rest’ breaks?

• that illustration can help to carry the story forward and help struggling readers if they lose their place?

• that research has shown boys prefer books of 100 pages or under?

MATCH THE RIGHT BOOK TO THE RIGHT CHILD

Check the level:

Reading Age (RA)

Interest Age (IA)