The Black Friday sales have disappeared in the rearview mirror, but gift-buying season is still in full swing. And while it’s easy to pay lip service to the “four gift” rule – something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read – I’m suggesting that, with the cost of living cutting deep and the festive spirit in short supply, we bring it into laser-like focus.

In fact, I’m suggesting we target item number four: give a book to every Australian child and teenager.

Including – especially – the ones who “don’t read”.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a child who likes reading is given books all the time, for every occasion. But if a child self-identifies early on as a non-reader for whatever reason, people stop giving them books.

What if we instead treat every kid as a reader, even if they haven’t yet found the right book? In doing so we make sure there’s always a book handy, giving them an opportunity to change their minds.

And with Australian literacy levels in the doldrums and recreational reading dropping across the demographics, it’s becoming imperative we change their minds.

But how do you choose the right book?

First, get to the heart of what they love. Fly fishing? Footy? Fairies? There’s a book, fiction or non-fiction, for every interest. The key to getting reluctant readers over the line is not simply giving them a book written for people who aren’t big on reading, but instead giving them a book they think was written for them.

Next, meet them where they are. Forget their age, stage and what you were reading as a child, and choose something for where your kid is at right now. If that means more illustrations than you think is “right” for them – a graphic novel, an audiobook, a joke book or a manual on how to tie knots – that’s where you need to look. Match the book to the kid, not the reading level.

Make it fun! The festive season is not the time for life-improving literature (unless, of course, your young reader would relish that hardback edition of Great Expectations). If you want kids to open the pages, not just the present, choose a book that feels like a treat.

Pair the book with a related gift, like a cookbook and baking equipment. Or a football with a related biography. A fairy house with fairy books, binoculars with a nature guide, art supplies with an art book, and so on. Immediately, the book has a purpose.

There’s still time to ask your school’s teacher-librarian (if you’re lucky enough to still have one), your local independent bookshop or someone working at your local library for suggestions. Check in with friends and family to see what their kids are reading, and look for online sources of recommendations.

Of course, it’s one thing to give them a book. It’s quite another to encourage them to read it. This is where the pairing idea comes into its own, but it’s also where you get to step in. If they’re open to it, read the first chapter with them; starting is always the hardest bit.

Making space in their days for reading also helps. The summer holidays are a terrific time to create space, allowing for time when nothing much happens. And with the social media ban for under-16s, non-screen time (AKA boredom) will be easier to come by.

The other important thing you can do is to open a book yourself. The Understanding Australian Readers report, a collaboration between Australia Reads and Monash University’s BehaviourWorks Australia, found that role modelling encourages reading participation. In other words: read in front of them, read with them and make books part of your everyday conversations.

Within my extended family, I am known as the Book Aunty – yep, books for every occasion. To me, they are the ultimate gift. There’s a perfect book for everyone, they offer hours of entertainment, they’re not easy to break and – importantly for non-crafty types like me – they’re easy to gift-wrap.

You can also give books to kids you’ve never met, via organisations such as Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal, Dymocks Children’s Charities and the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

At a time when mis- and disinformation is rife, AI is threatening critical and creative thinking skills, and when a tour through any project home village showcases media rooms, spa rooms and very little room for books, we need to show young Australians that books and reading matters.

Let’s start – one book at a time – this festive season.

• Allison Tait is a middle-grade author and the co-founder of Your Kid’s Next Read, a community designed to help you find the next book for the young people in your life.