Marcus Rashford Book Club donates 50,000 free books to schoolchildren

The Marcus Rashford Book Club is donating 50,000 free books to schoolchildren across the country. 

This summer’s chosen book is the second instalment of Marcus Rashford’s children’s fiction series, The Breakfast Club Adventures, The Breakfast Club Adventures 2: The Ghoul in the School, co-written with Alex Falase-Koya and illustrated by Marta Kissi, published by Macmillan Children’s Books. 

The Marcus Rashford Book Club was launched in 2021 by Marcus Rashford and Macmillan Children’s Books and aims to gift free books to children who need them the most. It is supported by KPMG UK and the National Literacy Trust. 

Rashford read his first book aged 17 and credits this with changing his outlook on life, having been raised in a household that struggled financially. Research from the National Literacy Trust shows that reading for pleasure can positively affect a child’s mental wellbeing, and can set them up with the literacy skills they need to succeed. 

By giving children a book of their own, the programme aims to increase literacy rates and reading enjoyment, which can have a huge impact on the future lives of the children involved, including better job prospects and higher lifetime earnings.  

Any school can join in with the Marcus Rashford Book Club through a free, virtual event with Alex Falase-Koya on Wednesday 28th June, 10.30 a.m., and by downloading the free school resources and first chapter of The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School. 

Jason Vit, head of local areas at the National Literacy Trust, said: “At the National Literacy Trust, we know first-hand the huge effect reading for pleasure can have on a child’s literacy skills. The Marcus Rashford Book Club gives us an opportunity to inspire a love of reading in some of the most economically disadvantaged areas of the UK, not just by giving out free copies of this fantastic book, but also by showing how reading has influenced a role mode like Marcus Rashford. With half a million children in the UK reporting they do not have access to books of their own at home, partnerships like this are more important than ever. We hope the 50,000 children we are reaching this summer will not just love the exciting adventures in The Breakfast Club, but that this will inspire them to seek out new books that will engage and spark their imaginations.”  

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, m.d. Macmillan Children’s Books, added: “We are delighted to continue our work with the National Literacy Trust and KPMG UK on the Marcus Rashford Book Club this summer and get thousands of books to some of the most vulnerable children in the UK. With the rise in child poverty, the purpose of the Marcus Rashford Book Club, to get exciting and inclusive books to children to support them in their reading journey, is more important now than ever.”