World Book Day with a difference – reaching children with literacy difficulties

March 5, 2013 - PRLog -- 14 million excited children in the UK and Ireland will be receiving their £1 book vouchers to exchange for one of 8 books courtesy of World Book Day on the 7th March.  Top titles include Horrid Henry’s Guide to Perfect Parents by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross, Weird World of Wonders’ Funny Inventions by Tony Robinson and Bittersweet The Chocolate Box Girls by Cathy Cassidy. UNESCO’s World Book Day is now in its 16th year. This year’s World Book Day is a celebration of reading with a difference: it is designed to reach all children including those with reading difficulties such as dyslexia.

According to the Department for Education, 17% of school children have some form of special educational need (SEN) such as dyslexia and may have difficulties with reading or tracking where they are on the page. For the first time, literacy software specialist Texthelp is offering struggling readers a 15% discount off its award winning text-to-speech software, Read&Write GOLD, designed to improve reading and writing and aid comprehension of on-screen text. Claim here (http://www.texthelp.com/UK/Our-products/Readwrite/buyupgr...) by entering promo code WBDMar13.

The software can be used with books in HTML, PDF, or iPad format or with bookshare e-books from one of the world’s largest online libraries and will support individuals with dyslexia or visual impairments. World Book Day vouchers can also be claimed as a discount for e-books over £2.99 at participating shops, or alternatively books can be scanned and read back by the software.

Mark McCusker, CEO of Texthelp states, “World Book Day provides an excellent opportunity to improve literacy levels in children. With 14 million school children in the UK and Ireland receiving a £1 book token, it will encourage them to read and take enjoyment in reading.”

For information on the Read&Write GOLD reading support software, please contact Texthelp on T: +44 (0)28 9442 8105, E: info@texthelp.com, W: www.texthelp.com/uk