Kevin McCloud celebrates the National Year of Reading

Kevin McCloud joined CBF once again in May to celebrate the National Year of Reading - and to make a very special announcement.

He talked about his love of books and the ones that have meant most to him, including Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and The Wasp Factory by Ian Rankin, as well as the brilliant book, The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker and the wisdom of the late great Kurt Vonnegut.

The audience was captivated by his emotive, informative and funny discussion of the power of story, how it relates to all elements of our lives and the different forms it can take. Kevin is integral to creating the narrative arc of television programmes like Grand Designs and Kevin McCloud’s Listed Britain as well as his new podcast, Tim and Kev’s Big Design Adventure and lights up when he talks about how stories can connect us to one another.

As if that wasn’t enough, Kevin also did us the honour of announcing that CBF has been chosen by Mayor McHale to be the Mayor’s Charity for 2026/2027. We were delighted that the Mayor and Mayoress could be there in person, and it really was a wonderful celebration.

Kevin McCloud said:

“Books and storytelling have shaped so much of my own life, and ultimately even led me to becoming an author myself, so it has been a real joy to be part of this evening and to help announce this wonderful news for Children’s BookFest.

During the National Year of Reading, it feels especially fitting to celebrate a charity doing such important work to help young people discover the pleasure, possibility and inspiration that reading can bring.”

Councillor Sean McHale, Mayor of Chichester, said:

“I am delighted that Children’s BookFest has agreed to be my charity for the coming year. I have had such enjoyment from reading books and they have taken me to places and situations that would otherwise have been unknown.  I have read books that I could not put down and books that I did not want to finish. In this national literary year, it is right to support a charity that aims to inspire a love of reading in children so that they can become wizards, explorers, spies, astronauts and so much more.”