Ship-shape and ready for National Bookstart Day 2008

Pirate fever is spreading across Shropshire as libraries throughout the County are excitedly preparing for pirate themed parties as this year’s National Bookstart Day celebrations kick off on Friday 10 October.

Children under five and their parents and carers are invited to come along and join in special pirate themed story and rhyme times which are being held in many libraries in the County. Bookmarks, rhyme sheets and stickers will be given out along with a copy of the book ‘Pirates Ahoy’ written by Debbie Harter and Oscar Seaworthy.

The Bookstart Bear will be making an appearance at Ludlow Library where he will be joining in with a Bookstart Pirate rhyme and story time. The bear arrives at 10.30am and there will be plenty of fun with rhymes and songs.
The Shropshire Bookstart scheme is part of a national programme to introduce books to children from as early age as possible by giving free packs of books to babies and young children, along with free guidance material for parents and carers.

There are three Bookstart gifts: Bookstart Baby pack for babies up to 12 months old, Bookstart Plus for toddlers aged between 18-30 months and My Treasure Chest for three year olds.

Nicola Dawson, Early Years Librarian with Shropshire Libraries, said: “Sharing books helps to build language skills, gives confidence, and nurtures a lifelong enjoyment of books. Research shows that early language and social and emotional development are vital precursors to early literacy.”

Children who attend the event at Ludlow Library will be able to pick up their free Bookstart bag if they have not already received one.

Parents and carers who are not able to attend the event can collect one of the Bookstart packs from their Health Visitor or local library. The Treasure Chests are distributed through nurseries and playgroups throughout the year.

For further information on the special Bookstart Day events please contact your local library to find out where your nearest event will be.

More details on Bookstart and ideas for running your own Bookstart Day event can be found at the Bookstart Website at www.bookstart.org.uk

The website has downloadable resources to make the best Pirate Party, including colouring sheets and instructions of how to make your own pirate hat and ship’s rat.

For further details please contact Nicola Dawson, Early Years Librarian, on 01743 255031.

For further information on Bookstart and Booktrust please contact Katherine Solomon on 020 8875 4583 or katherine@booktrust.org.uk

Further information

Bookstart is run by Booktrust, an independent national charity that encourages people of all ages and cultures to discover and enjoy reading.

Bookstart is the national book-gifting programme that encourages all parents and carers to enjoy books with children from as early an age as possible. We want every child in the UK to develop a lifelong love of books. Bookstart is a public and private partnership and is generously sponsored by children’s book publishers. Central funding is provided through the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales and the Department of Education in Northern Ireland and the Department for Children, Schools and Families in England.

Working through local authorities and primary care trusts, Bookstart gives the gift of free books to children at around eight months, 18 months and three years, along with guidance materials for parents and carers. Bookstart also aims to foster a love of books through a range of fun activities. Parents wishing to receive a pack should speak to their Health Visitor or contact their local library.

Among Booktrust’s other projects are the Booktrust Early Years Awards, Booktrust Teenage Prize, Children’s Book Week, the Children’s Laureate and the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.

Booktrust has developed two further book-gifting programmes in the UK: Booktime, run in association with Pearson, gives a free book to every Year One pupil and Booked Up, which gives a free book from a choice of twelve, to every Year Seven pupil. The Letterbox Club is the most recent addition to Booktrust range of book-gifting programmes and is aimed at Looked after Children. The Letterbox Club will be launched in September 2008

National Year of Reading

The 2008 National Year of Reading is a year-long celebration of reading, in all its forms. It aims to build a greater national passion for reading – for children, families and adult learners alike. The Year will encourage people to read in businesses, homes, and communities around the country, providing new opportunities to read and helping people to access help and support through schools and libraries. To get involved and sign up to Year of Reading activities in your area, log on to www.yearofreading.org.uk.

8 October 2008