Queen Camilla urges children to embrace comics and audiobooks in Beano appearance

Queen Camilla appeared in the Beano alongside Dennis the Menace and his dog Gnasher as part of a campaign to promote reading, telling the comic-strip troublemaker that "Comics and audiobooks count too!" The comment came as audiobooks have boomed in recent years: revenue for UK publishers from audio rose by almost a third in 2023-24.

The popular rise of audio has prompted debate about whether listening to a book is as valuable as reading it, but organisations involved in literacy say the medium should not be the measure of reading. Debbie Hicks, creative director of the Reading Agency, said "Reading is about the content and not the medium," and urged a reframing of traditional hierarchies between print and audio.

The charity’s research, Hicks added, shows audio is as effective as print for developing comprehension skills and vocabulary. The format also helps people who are visually impaired, dyslexic or time poor, and can act as a gateway for those less inclined to read; more men (33%) than women (24%) listen to audiobooks weekly.

Jon Watt, chair of the Audio Publishers Group at the Publishers Association, pointed to National Literacy Trust research from 2024 that found 37.5% of children and young people said listening to audiobooks encouraged them to do more traditional reading, and 52% said listening helped when they felt stressed.

Key Topics

Culture, Queen Camilla, Audiobooks, Reading Agency, National Literacy Trust, Publishers Association