As part of Book Week Scotland, all children in Primary 1-3 will receive free books from the Scottish Book Trust
SCOTTISH CHILDREN IN PRIMARIES ONE, TWO AND THREE will receive 453,450 free books as part of Book Week Scotland 2017.
The books come courtesy of the national literary charity the Scottish Book Trust (SBT), working in partnership with the Scottish Government, Education Scotland and Creative Scotland.
Book Week Scotland, a nationwide celebration of literature and literacy now in its sixth year, takes place between 27 November and 3 December. Book Week Scotland is coordinated by the SBT and was initiated by the Scottish Government and is supported by £200,000 from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland Targeted Funding, as well as £24,000 from Scottish Library and Information Council.
64,000 ‘Bookbug Primary one Family Bags’ will be given to Primary one pupils across Scotland – in addition to 750 Gaelic bags – all of which will contain three books.
These books include Little Owl’s Egg by Debi Gliori, The Fourth Bonniest Baby in Dundee by Michelle Sloan and illustrated by Kasia Matyjaszek, and Gorilla Loves Vanilla by Chae Strathie, illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne. All have been shortlisted for the BookBug Picture Book Prize, which celebrates the best of Scottish children’s authors and illustrators.
“The bags have been developed specifically for young children, to encourage reading for pleasure, writing and becoming familiar with numbers.” Scottish Book Trust CEO Marc Lambert
As part of the SBT’s ‘Read Write Count’ initiative, 128,000 bags will also be delivered to pupils in Primary two and three, as well as 1600 bags to pupils in Gaelic Medium Education. Each of these bags will contain two books, as well as games and writing materials to share with parents and carers.
This year’s Book Week Scotland will also include a Virtual Festival, featuring online events that can be accessed via Scottish Book Trust’s website and social media.
Speaking ahead of Book Week Scotland, Scottish Book Trust CEO Marc Lambert said: “We’re delighted once again to gift books to primary pupils during Book Week Scotland. The bags have been developed specifically for young children, to encourage reading for pleasure, writing and becoming familiar with numbers.
“The Primary one activity pack will help pupils enjoy the stories even after the book reaches the final page, firing their imaginations and developing a love of storytelling. The counting, writing and storytelling resources in the bags will help families have fun with numbers and encourage them to create stories together.”
“The Scottish Government’s aspiration for our children and their families is for Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow up.” Minister for Childcare and Early Years Maree Todd
Minister for Childcare and Early Years Maree Todd also commented: “The Scottish Government’s aspiration for our children and their families is for Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow up.
“All of our policies for children and young people have one overall aim – to improve the outcomes for every child and young person in Scotland.
“As part of this ambition we fund Scottish Book Trust to operate the Bookbug initiative and to gift books and counting activities in early primary as part of our Read Write Count programme.
“Reading has the power to transform people’s lives, and developing the reading habit as children sets us up for a lifelong relationship with books which enhances almost every aspect of our wellbeing.” Creative Scotland Head of Literature, Languages and Publishing Jenny Niven
“This is because we recognise how important it is to introduce children to books as early as possible. Reading is fun for children, capturing their imagination and stimulating development. As well as fostering vital literacy and language skills, reading is a great activity for parents to share with their wee ones.”
Jenny Niven, Head of Literature, Languages & Publishing at Creative Scotland, also said of the initiative: “Reading has the power to transform people’s lives, and developing the reading habit as children sets us up for a lifelong relationship with books which enhances almost every aspect of our wellbeing.
“As well as making an invaluable contribution to our health, both physically and mentally, reading for pleasure sparks the imagination and allows us to see the world from all kinds of other perspectives and points of view.
“The Bookbug family bag provides fun materials for parents and children to enjoy at home, and is the perfect bag of tricks to bring families together in the wintry weather. We’re enormously proud to help Scottish Book Trust to bring this fundamental resource, and these wonderful experiences, to every P1-3 pupil in the country.”
Picture courtesy of San Jose Public Library
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