The initiative is rolling out during the summer term and includes classroom activities as well as a virtual author event.
The Marcus Rashford Book Club was launched in 2021 by footballer Marcus Rashford and Macmillan Children’s Books and aims to gift free books to children who need them the most.
Supported by the National Literacy Trust and KPMG UK, it has already delivered around 125,000 books to primary schools in the UK’s most economically deprived areas.
Marcus Rashford was aged 17 when he read his first book and says this changed his outlook on life, having been raised in a household that struggled financially.
Research from the National Literacy Trust has shown a strong link between having a book of your own at home and reading engagement, yet an estimated half a million children and young people (1 in 15) do not own a book. This rises to around 1 in 10 for children on free school meals (see NLT, 2022).
This summer’s chosen book is the second instalment of Marcus Rashford’s best-selling children’s fiction series, The Breakfast Club Adventures, co-written with Alex Falase-Koya and illustrated by Marta Kissi. The Breakfast Club Adventures 2: The ghoul in the school is aimed at children aged 8 to 12.
On June 28, pupils can take part in a free virtual author event with Alex Falase-Koya, and schools can also download free resources and the first chapter of the new book.
- To find out more about the Marcus Rashford Book Club titles, and for free classroom resources and information about the virtual event, visit https://literacytrust.org.uk/resources/marcus-rashford-book-club/