Gloucestershire will be celebrating National Bookstart Week 2015 with lots of fun animal events around the county.
UK charity Book Trust is calling for all parents and carers from Gloucestershire to perfect their loudest Tarzan call and take their little adventurers to their local library for some jungle-themed reading fun.
There will be thousands of free events around the country for babies, link toddlers, order preschoolers and their families, at libraries, children centres, nurseries and bookshops.
Events include a Jungle Fun story time at Cinderford Library on June 8th, a visit from Bookstart Bear to Cheltenham Library on June 10th, plus more events in Matson, Tewkesbury Coleford and Lydney.
National Bookstart Week is an annual celebration of Book Trust’s flagship reading programme, Bookstart. It aims to reinforce to families the importance of getting in to the habit of reading every day – even if it’s just for ten minutes.
This year’s theme, Jungle Adventures, is based on Giles Andreae’s beloved picture book Rumble in the Jungle, which will be given away to more than 400,000 families across the country as part of the celebrations.
Cllr Andrew Gravells, cabinet member for Libraries said, “Sharing a story with a child is a special bonding experience, great for children and grownups alike. National Bookstart Week is a great opportunity to get into reading as a family, so pop along to your library and share a book today!”
Diana Gerald, Chief Executive of Book Trust said: ‘As a mum, I treasure those wonderful shared moments reading with my child. You are doing something special, and for a few minutes the outside world stops while you read about elephants or pirates.
‘Research has shown that reading to young children every day makes a huge difference in terms of their future confidence, communication skills, well-being and educational attainment. Book Trust believes very strongly that a book is not just a book; it’s a doorway. And believe that doorway should be open to everyone.’
Families can find their nearest National Bookstart Week event at: www.bookstart.org.uk/jungle or on Gloucestershire Libraries website http://bit.ly/GlosLibEvents