Is it true that 'Elementary schoolers don't read'? About 70% answer they like reading [Parent Survey]
A survey by Jukusen (DeltaX) revealed that 66% of elementary school students like reading, with nearly half reading 4 or more books a month. Educational manga series ranked highest in popularity.
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- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 20:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 11:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 12:56 (1h 25m after Collected)
DeltaX Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Tsuyoshi Kuroiwa), which operates the cram school selection service 'Jukusen', has announced the outline of a survey conducted on 'Elementary School Students' Reading Habits'.
April 23rd is 'Children's Reading Day'. For parents who want their children to develop a habit of reading, it is a day that provides an opportunity to think about reading again.
Many of you might feel, 'Aren't modern elementary school children just on their smartphones and playing games, not reading books much?'
However, in a survey conducted by Jukusen Journal targeting 100 parents of elementary school children, approximately 70% answered that their children 'like reading'. The reality that reading is firmly rooted even among today's children has come to light.
Based on these survey results, this article will introduce in detail the reading volume of elementary school students, popular genres, and ideas for creating reading habits at home.
Please see here for details.
What is the reality of elementary school students' reading? About 70% like reading.
66% of elementary school children like reading.
When asked how much their elementary school children like reading, 'like it very much' (25%) and 'somewhat like it' (41%) totaled 66%, revealing that roughly 70% of children have a positive feeling towards reading.
On the other hand, 'don't like it much' (28%) and 'dislike it' (6%) combined exceeded 30%, suggesting that one in three children has a weakness for reading.
Reading volume: About half read 4 or more books a month.
When asked about their child's reading volume per month, 48% of households answered '4 or more books a month', showing that about half of elementary school children read at a pace of one or more books a week.
Meanwhile, 14% answered 'less than 1 book a month' and 6% 'hardly read', meaning 20% of households read less than one book a month. Reading volume may be influenced by various factors such as reading activities at school, library usage, and contact points with books at home.
Books elementary school children are engrossed in | No. 1 is 'Survival Science Manga'
So, what kind of books are modern elementary school students actually engrossed in?
When we asked parents about 'books their children read enthusiastically', popular series works emerged.
n=100
What these books have in common is a structure that emphasizes ease of reading and entertainment. With manga formats, fast-paced developments, and humorous content, they are designed so that even children unaccustomed to reading can read through them naturally.
Comments from parents also indicated that children became interested in reading triggered by these series.
■ No. 1: Survival Science Manga Series (Asahi Shimbun Publications)
'When he is reading the "Survival Science Manga Series", he is very concentrated, and sometimes he doesn't reply immediately even if I call out to him. Even when it's mealtime, he sometimes continued reading saying "just a little more". After finishing reading, he happily talked about what he would do if he were in the same situation. He sometimes brought an encyclopedia to re-examine if such creatures really exist, showing that his interest is expanding triggered by the book.' (KK / Tokyo / 5th grade boy / Parent)
'She wants to try doing experiments like the characters, and explains the contents to the family in detail. Even after finishing reading, she shows interest in the continuation on her own, asking "Which survival is next?", and sometimes looks up related fields in an encyclopedia. I can see her intellectual curiosity growing as conversations expand triggered by the book.' (Razuberii / Aichi / 1st grade girl / Parent)
■ No. 2: Kaiketsu Zorori Series (Poplar Publishing)
'When reading "Kaiketsu Zorori", he enjoyed laughing out loud and imitating the characters. After finishing reading, he was excited saying "I want to read the next one!", and naturally started reaching for other books.' (Furuhon Raiku / Shizuoka / 4th grade boy / Parent)
'Before going to school or before going to bed, even when there is not much time, she tries to read if there is a spare moment.' (Mamiko / Saitama / 1st grade girl / Parent)
■ No. 3: Zannen na Ikimono Jiten (Takahashi Shoten) / Oshiri Tantei (Poplar Publishing)
'Since he first found "Zannen na Ikimono Jiten" at the library, he carried it around and read it every day. As soon as he comes home from school, he sits on the sofa, turns the pages, and when he finds a funny part, he calls out loudly, "Dad, look! This is super unfortunate!" Even after finishing reading, he went back to read the same page again and again, and passionately talked about the unfortunate stories of those creatures to the family; for about a week, it was all about that.' (como6 / Shizuoka / 6th grade boy / Parent)
'She was reading the "Oshiri Tantei" picture book excitedly as if she were inside it herself.
April 23rd is 'Children's Reading Day'. For parents who want their children to develop a habit of reading, it is a day that provides an opportunity to think about reading again.
Many of you might feel, 'Aren't modern elementary school children just on their smartphones and playing games, not reading books much?'
However, in a survey conducted by Jukusen Journal targeting 100 parents of elementary school children, approximately 70% answered that their children 'like reading'. The reality that reading is firmly rooted even among today's children has come to light.
Based on these survey results, this article will introduce in detail the reading volume of elementary school students, popular genres, and ideas for creating reading habits at home.
Please see here for details.
What is the reality of elementary school students' reading? About 70% like reading.
66% of elementary school children like reading.
When asked how much their elementary school children like reading, 'like it very much' (25%) and 'somewhat like it' (41%) totaled 66%, revealing that roughly 70% of children have a positive feeling towards reading.
On the other hand, 'don't like it much' (28%) and 'dislike it' (6%) combined exceeded 30%, suggesting that one in three children has a weakness for reading.
Reading volume: About half read 4 or more books a month.
When asked about their child's reading volume per month, 48% of households answered '4 or more books a month', showing that about half of elementary school children read at a pace of one or more books a week.
Meanwhile, 14% answered 'less than 1 book a month' and 6% 'hardly read', meaning 20% of households read less than one book a month. Reading volume may be influenced by various factors such as reading activities at school, library usage, and contact points with books at home.
Books elementary school children are engrossed in | No. 1 is 'Survival Science Manga'
So, what kind of books are modern elementary school students actually engrossed in?
When we asked parents about 'books their children read enthusiastically', popular series works emerged.
n=100
What these books have in common is a structure that emphasizes ease of reading and entertainment. With manga formats, fast-paced developments, and humorous content, they are designed so that even children unaccustomed to reading can read through them naturally.
Comments from parents also indicated that children became interested in reading triggered by these series.
■ No. 1: Survival Science Manga Series (Asahi Shimbun Publications)
'When he is reading the "Survival Science Manga Series", he is very concentrated, and sometimes he doesn't reply immediately even if I call out to him. Even when it's mealtime, he sometimes continued reading saying "just a little more". After finishing reading, he happily talked about what he would do if he were in the same situation. He sometimes brought an encyclopedia to re-examine if such creatures really exist, showing that his interest is expanding triggered by the book.' (KK / Tokyo / 5th grade boy / Parent)
'She wants to try doing experiments like the characters, and explains the contents to the family in detail. Even after finishing reading, she shows interest in the continuation on her own, asking "Which survival is next?", and sometimes looks up related fields in an encyclopedia. I can see her intellectual curiosity growing as conversations expand triggered by the book.' (Razuberii / Aichi / 1st grade girl / Parent)
■ No. 2: Kaiketsu Zorori Series (Poplar Publishing)
'When reading "Kaiketsu Zorori", he enjoyed laughing out loud and imitating the characters. After finishing reading, he was excited saying "I want to read the next one!", and naturally started reaching for other books.' (Furuhon Raiku / Shizuoka / 4th grade boy / Parent)
'Before going to school or before going to bed, even when there is not much time, she tries to read if there is a spare moment.' (Mamiko / Saitama / 1st grade girl / Parent)
■ No. 3: Zannen na Ikimono Jiten (Takahashi Shoten) / Oshiri Tantei (Poplar Publishing)
'Since he first found "Zannen na Ikimono Jiten" at the library, he carried it around and read it every day. As soon as he comes home from school, he sits on the sofa, turns the pages, and when he finds a funny part, he calls out loudly, "Dad, look! This is super unfortunate!" Even after finishing reading, he went back to read the same page again and again, and passionately talked about the unfortunate stories of those creatures to the family; for about a week, it was all about that.' (como6 / Shizuoka / 6th grade boy / Parent)
'She was reading the "Oshiri Tantei" picture book excitedly as if she were inside it herself.