We cannot overstate the importance of reading from a young age. Of course, books are incredibly valuable for people of all ages - with their wonderful capacity to educate, inform and entertain in almost limitless supply - but for young children starting out on their journey in life, they are quite simply priceless.

Frank Field MP's recent report on Poverty and Life Chances showed that "The associations between cognitive development at age five and later educational outcomes are very strong," - and that reading can be the crucial factor in this early cognitive development.

I tried to make this case in my own way during the recent debate on Life Chances in the House of Commons (a video of my speech is available at www.samgyimah. com). If a child can't read at school, then nothing else works. They can't learn English, they can't do Maths, they can't even work out what the teacher is writing up on the board. And from my own experiences growing up as young boy in Ghana, I know the impact that being read to by my mother had on my future achievement in school and beyond. It was immeasurable.

That is why I am supporting World Book Night on 5th March. One million books will be given away by twenty thousand selected readers across the UK, with a series of events and celebrations across the country with many libraries and bookshops remaining open late. For more information, please visit www.worldbooknight. org.

In a visual age where computers and television are such a big part of our lives, reading books cannot be allowed to fall by the wayside. As Victor Hugo said: "To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark." We have got to make sure every child gets their chance to play with fire.