Episode
How can I help someone fall in love with reading? with Nadia Shireen and Jonathan Douglas
- Podcast
- Ask Penguin
- Published
- Jul 15, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2811
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Summary
Can you read a cookbook cover-to-cover like a thriller? Does your reading level predict a longer life? Why is a punk chef’s memoir the ultimate weapon for reluctant readers? And how do we inspire children to read if we don’t have the time to read to them? In this special episode of Ask Penguin, Rhianna sits down with children’s author and illustrator, Nadia Shireen , and Jonathan Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust. Together, they discuss the National Year of Reading’s Go All In campaign and why reading for pleasure has the power to change lives and help tackle social inequality. Plus, we answer your questions about the reluctant readers in your life, helping you find the perfect book to spark a lifelong love of reading. Discover all the books mentioned in this episode here About the guests Nadia Shireen is a writer and illustrator. She enjoyed making homemade magazines and comics as a child. She studied law at university and then worked in magazine journalism; it was during this time that she started to draw again. After a lifetime of doodling in the sidelines, Nadia decided to pay some attention to drawing and in 2007 was accepted onto an MA course in Children's Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. Her debut book Good Little Wolf received a mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Opera Prima Award and won the UKLA Book Award. Nadia has been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. Jonathan Douglas CBE is CEO of the National Literacy Trust, a trustee of the Philosophy Foundation and of World Book Day. He is passionate about promoting access to literature and addressing inequality through literacy. He has lobbied and campaigned exten…