Curiosity Kits are book bags with a difference, designed to capture the interest of reluctant and struggling boy readers. The bags were created as a part of a UKRA pilot project, funded by the National Year of Reading, and aim through the range of its contents, to appeal to dads and other family members too. 

Each Curiosity Kit consists of a non-fiction book on a boy-friendly topic, for example, football, with a related toy or artefact, a wipe clean word search related to the book, a design activity and a magazine on the same topic aimed at adults. It is hoped that this magazine will encourage an adult male in the family to share the bag with the boy. In addition, the bag contains comment stickers (brill, O.K, boring) and a notebook to encourage comments from any of its readers. The kit is contained by a sports bag that was felt to have more 'street cred' than the bags typically used for book-bag schemes. Thanks to sponsorship* from several publishers and a sports bag manufacturer, a pilot project was set up during the last year. Sets of thirty bags (each on a different topic) were placed in four primary classes nation-wide and their impact monitored. 

The kits are targeted at boys of eight or nine (Years 3 and 4) at the age when reading failure, or lack of interest, becomes apparent. Exciting and innovative ways are needed at this crucial point if enthusiasm for reading is not to flag further. It was hoped that by making the bags attractive the boys would be eager to take them home. Girls are also allowed to take the bags home if they wish, as the sets of kits belong to the class. 

Research shows increased involvement of dads 
The interim findings of the report are both encouraging and fascinating. For example the number of children who share the kit with an adult or sibling, rather than reading on their own, had risen after one term. Whilst the overall number of shared readings increased the range of sharers also increased. With the kits the number of readings with mum decreased but sharers now included more dads, brothers, sisters and grandparents. Before the kits, most children (of those who read to an adult) read to their mum. 

Leaflet available 
The next stage of the project is the dissemination of the idea and our findings to primary schools in the U.K. Our grant from the National Year of Reading will fund a leaflet explaining how to set up a Curiosity Kit Scheme. This leaflet should be ready by the end of September. If any reader would like a copy of this leaflet please send a stamped addressed A5 envelope to: Maureen Lewis, 'Curiosity Kits', University of Plymouth, Rolle School of Education, Exmouth, EX8 2AT. 

Research methodology
The impact of the bags in different schools around the country was monitored by Maureen Lewis and Ros Fisher, University of Plymouth, Colin Harrison of the University of Nottingham, and Theresa Grainger of Canterbury Christchurch College. Before the introduction of the bags, four reluctant or failing boy readers in each class were interviewed and the home reading patterns for the whole class were recorded. The reading records were collected throughout the year and the target children and the class teachers interviewed after two terms with the kits. Comments from parents and children were also noted. Four control schools were also monitored to see whether the patterns of home reading altered in schools which had no kits.  
 
Our grateful thanks to Nike, and the following publishers - Aladdin Books, Belitha Press, Child's Play, Crabtree, Dorling & Kindersley, Franklin Watts, Heinemann, Kingfisher, Macmillan, Moonlight Publishing, Usbourne, Walker Books - who all generously provided materials for the Kits. 
 

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