The Reading Agency’s Manga Mania promotion (TES, November 12) is not being sent out to all schools and libraries. The materials are available for sale (www.readingagency.org.uk) and are supported by an annotated booklist of 150-plus manga titles appropriate for 13 to 16-year-olds and a resource pack.
The main aim is to promote reading for pleasure. Manga is a growing area of interest for both girls and boys and forms part of their reading lives and choices. Manga offers a wide range of story lines from romance relationships to thriller, football to science fiction, dance to fantasy Our booklist will be selected with the help of library professionals, and will be appropriate for the age group. It would be good to see a feature in The TES looking at the breadth of manga being published, how young people are responding to it and why they are choosing it. The response “comic = graphic novel = sex = violence” is far too simplistic. The Reading Agency aims to support organisations working with readers, with a focus on reading for pleasure. We think manga, carefully used, has a role to play in encouraging more young people to read, and read more widely, and would like to hear from schools and libraries who are working with it.
Ruth Harrison Project manager The Reading Agency 57 Elfham Road Lee Green, London SE12
