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Ivy Press has recruited children’s publishers such as HarperCollins Children’s to take part in its “screen free” Twitter campaign this Friday (22nd August), encouraging children to turn off their devices over the weekend.
This Friday, participating publishers will post ideas for outdoor activities from their books using the #ScreenFreeWeekend hashtag.
“We want to remind people that books are not only for avid readers who like to be engrossed in a great story but can also inspire an interest in a range of sociable activities – from instructions on building an awesome woodland den, to tips on setting up a community compost bin,” said Ivy Press publicity officer Emily Owen.
“We know that social media is a great way to communicate with readers but we are aiming to make people think about how much time they spend on-screen so we’ll be running the promotion for one day only, in the hope that they will switch off for the weekend and get out and do something hands-on,” she added.
Ivy Press will share preview pages from titles such as Outdoor Wonderland, which is a guide to outdoor activities (p/b, £8.99), and Do Nice, Be Kind, Spread Happy (p/b, £6.99), which gives tips on acts of kindness children can carry out in their community. The Sussex-based publisher will also link to a blog post with details on how readers can enter a competition to win a selection of books.
Owen said the amount of time children spend on devices can be “quite depressing”.
She said: “There seems to be a constant stream of reports on children’s use of screen-based media; whether coming from Ofcom, who are telling us the use of tablet devices has tripled and that over 50% of children as young as three are using them for gaming, or from organisations such as Project Wild Thing, who talk of children suffering from nature deficit disorder.”
Other publishers that are taking part include HarperCollins Children’s, Thames and Hudson, Laurence King and Dorling Kindersley (DK). DK is running a competition to give away a copy of RSPB 365 Things You Have to Try, its own guide to outdoor activities.