CHILDREN’S author Michael Rosen has said writers must “try harder” to create “special pleasures” from reading a book that youngsters cannot get from a screen.

Mr Rosen read his popular book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt to children on a train from London Paddington to Reading on Wednesday, helping launch Great Western Railway’s campaign encouraging youngsters to keep reading over the summer.

A survey of more than 1,000 parents found children spent an average of 11 hours before screens per week during the holidays, compared to just three hours reading.

Mr Rosen said: “Are there these special pleasures and special rewards from reading a book that maybe you can’t get on a screen?

“What I always say to other authors is we’ve got to try harder. We’ve got to make our books funnier, cleverer, sadder, more intriguing.”

He criticised the government’s planned social media ban for under-16s, saying: “I’m not generally in favour of bans. If you forbid something, you make it desirable.”

Mini libraries have been set up at stations including Reading, Exeter St Davids, Swindon and Plymouth.