EasyJet has a library in the sky, and it's the perfect complement to every kids' summer reading program.
Traveling with little ones is sometimes stressful, but flying with children strapped in a seat with nowhere to go can be downright terrifying. Parents frequently turn to electronic devices such as iPads, smartphones and laptops to keep their kids entertained.
With EasyJet's new "Flybraries," parents can put the devices away and kids can catch up on their summer reading lists.
More than 7,000 books will take to the skies this summer and will be available on the airline's fleet of 147 aircraft.
The new libraries in the sky enhance EasyJet's Book Club, with hand-selected books from celebrated children's author Dame Jaqueline Wilson, who curated a list of Puffin Classics for kids to read over the summer.
"I had great fun choosing all the books," Wilson told EasyJet.
"What I wanted to do was choose books that children would actually enjoy. Because the very word 'classic' generally makes most children roll their eyes and go, 'Boring!,' so I wanted to have books the children might not have read but are familiar with the story, like Alice in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, because they've probably seen a video of it."
Some of other children's titles on the list include Peter Pan, Rudyard Kipling's Just So Serious, The Railway Children, the Borrowers and more.
Providing access to books in the air was sparked by survey results in which 83 percent of parents with children ages 8-12 said that their kids were reading less than when they were young.
The study found that children were reading three books over the summer months when parents read four or more. Nine out of 10 parents noted that the reason for the decline in reading for pleasure was due to the vast amounts of electronic devices kids have access to.
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This summer holiday season, EasyJet is preparing to fly 750,000 families out of airports in the U.K. The goal of the Flybrary campaign is to promote literacy and encourage children to read more over the summer as well as encourage them to read for pleasure rather than to stare at a screen.
"The long summer break is the ideal opportunity for children to get stuck into a great story. Books stimulate a child's imagination and development," said Wilson. "Reading soothes, entertains, grows vocabulary and exercises the mind and a flight is the perfect place to escape into a literary adventure."
Kids can sample books onboard that encompass a variety of themes, especially travel and adventure. The books must be left on the plane for the next guest to enjoy, but children can download free samples of other classics to try when they land.
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