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Diary of a Wimpy Kid sales from WH Smith to support the National Literacy Trust
WH Smith, the National Literacy Trust and Puffin have launched a Get Kids Reading with Diary of a Wimpy Kid campaign to champion literacy, grow a generation of readers and raise funds to get books into the hands of the young readers who need them most.
For every copy of a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book sold by WH Smith Travel stores in the UK and Ireland between 12th June 2025 and 3rd September 2025, 50p will be given to the National Literacy Trust, up to a maximum of 60,000 copies. Customers will also be able to donate money to the National Literacy Trust via its site.
Funds raised by this initiative will support the National Literacy Trust’s mission to empower children and young people through literacy skills, particularly in communities where low literacy levels are impacting people’s lives.
The campaign will also support the charity’s ongoing work in tackling the reading for pleasure crisis, with new research from the National Literacy Trust revealing only one in three (32.7%) children and young people aged eight to 18 enjoy reading in their free time.
Reading for enjoyment and daily reading have fallen to their lowest levels since the charity began tracking them 20 years ago.
With over 19 books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and counting, Jeff Kinney’s books catalogue the day-to-day life of Greg Heffley and his family with humour. The series has now sold more than 300 million copies worldwide with the 19th book in the series winning Children’s Fiction Book of the Year at the 2025 British Book Awards, where one judge commented: “Jeff Kinney creates readers.”
Launching ahead of the publication of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper, book 20 in the series, this initiative builds on Kinney’s longstanding support of the National Literacy Trust.
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Kinney said: “Getting kids excited and inspired by books – showing them that reading can be fun – has never been more important. We all know how a book can make a huge difference to a young reader – and in some cases, even change a life. That’s why I’m thrilled that Diary of a Wimpy Kid is part of this initiative with WH Smith, helping to further the National Literacy Trust’s mission to make access to books a reality for all.”
Managing director of Penguin Random House Children’s Francesca Dow said: “With reading for pleasure in sharp decline, our mission at Puffin to publish a book for every child is more important than ever. We believe in the transformative power of reading, and we know that reading for pleasure is the single biggest factor in determining a child’s success in life. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has had an unrivalled role in creating millions of readers around the world by showing children the fun that can be found in the pages of a book.”
National Literacy Trust chief executive Jonathan Douglas said: “Jeff Kinney’s much-loved books have inspired thousands of children to fall in love with reading, and this brilliant campaign will help to support our work so that even more children can gain from the many benefits that reading for enjoyment brings. By joining forces and working together to ignite a love of reading in schools and communities across the country we can grow a generation of readers.”
Head of books at WH Smith Lucy Swinburn said: “Literacy is a fundamental building block for a child’s development and future, yet too many children still face barriers to accessing books. That’s why we’re proud to launch this latest campaign, renewing our commitment to book donations and fundraising. Our mission is simple: to help get books into the hands of children, giving them the chance to read, learn and thrive.”
