'There's plenty of evidence that the best children's books contain all the grammar young readers need. They also make learning enjoyable – unlike textbooks'

Why have schools been told that reading doesn't help you to learn grammar? My child is being prepared for the new Year 6 grammar test. Suddenly, a lot of literacy teaching time is focusing on that at the expense of time spent on "reading for pleasure". I can't help feeling that the children could learn the grammar better if they read more.

The new grammar test is certainly receiving a lot of attention and, as is always the case when a new assessment is imposed, there is pressure on teachers to teach specifically for it. However many, or even most of them, would agree that the best children's literature will demonstrate to a child all they need to learn – and in a much more sophisticated and subtle way.

Children's writers relish using language well; of course they do, that is an essential tool of their work. Spelling, punctuation, regular and irregular verbs and everything else about grammar underpin all that they do. (It is odd that anyone thinks it doesn't.)

And that doesn't just apply to fiction. It is as true in picture books. In Key Stage 1, when the scope for teaching grammar on its own is very limited, teachers can do so easily by using a wonderful picture book such as Cressida Cowell's elegantly and inventively written That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, which effortlessly introduces a series of adverbial phrases including "A few weeks later", "An hour or so later", and so on. These provide children with examples of uses of grammar in a creative way which will then be easily absorbed into their own writing.

In Key Stage 2 there are endless examples of authors using grammar just as the text books say it should be used. Some, such as Dick King Smith, who learnt his English grammar through the classics, hark back to the Latin sentence structure – anyone reading his best-selling The Sheep-Pig will recognize the subordinate clauses so popular in Latin writing.

Others who know the rules may also choose to break them; Frank Cotrell Boyce tells Cosmic through the voices of children, and adapts his grammar to reflect their speech patterns.

If in doubt and nervous of trusting their instincts, teachers and parents should look at the considerable research around the subject. See, for example, S. Krahsen in The Power of Reading: "When children read for pleasure, when they get "hooked on books", they acquire, involuntarily and without conscious effort, nearly all of the so-called 'language skills' many people are so concerned about: they will become adequate readers, acquire a large vocabulary, develop the ability to understand and use complex grammatical constructions, develop a good writing style, and become good (but not necessarily perfect) spellers."

He continues: "Although free voluntary reading alone will not ensure attainment of the highest levels of literacy, it will at least ensure an acceptable level. Without it, I suspect that children simply do not have a chance."