SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST ANNOUNCES 2018/19 BOOKBUG BAG BOOKS

SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST ANNOUNCES
2018/19 BOOKBUG BAG BOOKS

Scottish Book Trust is pleased to announce the books chosen for the 2018/19 Bookbug Bags that are distributed free to every baby, toddler and 3-year-old in Scotland.

Every year, Bookbug, the Scottish Government funded initiative, gifts over 800,000 books to families across Scotland. Bookbug bags help children to develop a love of books and promote the health and developmental benefits of sharing stories, songs and rhymes. The new bags will include books by some of the UK’s favourite authors and illustrators including Lucy Cousins, Nick Sharratt and Polly Dunbar.

Among other things this year’s bags also include Song & Rhyme Library postcards highlighting Bookbug’s new Song & Rhyme Library, with beautiful artwork from Nick Sharratt, Ross Collins and Catherine Rayner.

Bookbug also gifts Gaelic language editions of the selected titles and tactile books to support children with additional needs. These can be requested from your local Bookbug Co-ordinator or Bòrd na Gàidhlig Early Years Worker. Three-year-old children in Gaelic Medium Education will receive their Gaelic Bookbug Explorer Bag from their nursery.

The Bookbug programme is managed by Scottish Book Trust and run in partnership with libraries, local authorities, health professionals and nurseries.

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said:

“We are excited to once again be gifting books to every child across Scotland through Bookbug bags. The books selected have been chosen carefully by our Early Year experts, and we are sure families across the country will delight in sharing these stories. Bookbug bags are an excellent way to start a story time routine, and accompanied with our new song and rhyme library, will help to develop children’s language skills.”

Maree Todd, Minister for Childcare and Early Years, said:

“Sharing books and stories is a fun and easy way for parents to help their children develop their reading and listening skills. And snuggling up together to read a book helps create strong bonds and makes children feel loved and secure. When my own children were little reading together was a genuine pleasure and as they have grown we have continued to share and discuss books together to carry on that love of reading.

“It is extremely important to introduce children to books as early as possible – that is why we provide over £1.6 million each year to Scottish Book Trust, to deliver the Bookbug initiative to every child in Scotland.”

The books to be distributed free in Bookbug bags to every baby, toddler and three-year-old in Scotland in the coming year are as follows:

Bookbug Baby Bag

·         Peekaboo! in the Jungle by Cocoretto (Child’s Play)

·         Baby’s Very First Black and White Book: Faces by Stella Baggott (Usborne)

·         If You’re Happy and You Know It… by Annie Kubler (Child’s Play)

Bookbug Toddler Bag

·         How to Bath Your Little Dinosaur by Jane Clarke & Georgie Birkett (Penguin Random House)

·         Maisy's Bus by Lucy Cousins (Walker Books)

·         Flip and Find Farmers by Samantha Meredith (Campbell / Macmillan)

Bookbug Explorer Bag

·         You Choose by Pippa Goodhart & Nick Sharratt (Penguin Random House)

·         Penguin by Polly Dunbar (Walker Books)

·         Is That an Elephant in My Fridge? by Caroline Crowe & Claudia Ranucci (Scholastic)

Bookbug Book Bags

Bookbug is Scotland’s national book gifting programme, gifting books to every baby, toddler, 3 and 5-year-old in Scotland in four free Bookbug bags:

·         Baby Bag (gifted by a health visitor to every baby)

·         Toddler Bag (gifted by a health visitor to every toddler)

·         Explorer Bag (gifted at nursery to every 3-year-old)

·         Primary 1 Family Bag (gifted at school to every P1 pupil, announced at a later date)

The Bookbug programme is managed by Scottish Book Trust and run in partnership with libraries, health professionals and nurseries. The programme benefits from sponsorship from children’s publishers and central funding from the Scottish Government through a Strategic Funding Partnership Grant, with support from Local Authorities, Library Services and Health Boards through the provision of local staff time and logistics solutions.

Bookbug Sessions are run by local libraries or community groups. There are 23,000 Bookbug sessions happen across Scotland every year. These are free, fun-filled story and rhyme sessions for babies to four-year-olds, attended by thousands of parents and children a year. Details of local Bookbug Sessions can be found here.

Bookbug’s targeted outreach programme, Bookbug for the Home, trains Early Years practitioners to give support to families on a one-to-one basis. Since 2012, Bookbug for the Home has helped over 14,000 families, encouraging parents to do more talking, book sharing and singing with their children.

Scottish Book Trust also supports the delivery of Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Scotland (free books delivered monthly to every Looked After Child aged 0-5).

www.scottishbooktrust.com/bookbug  @Bookbug_SBT   https://www.facebook.com/BookbugSBT/

Scottish Book Trust

Scottish Book Trust is a national charity changing lives through reading and writing. We inspire and support the people of Scotland to read and write for pleasure through programmes and outreach work that include:

• Gifting books to every child in Scotland to ensure families of all backgrounds can share the joy of books at home.
• Working with teachers to inspire children to develop a love of reading, creating innovative classroom activities, book awards and author events.
• Supporting Scotland’s diverse writing community with our training, awards and writing opportunities.
• Funding a range of author events for the public to enjoy and promoting Scottish writing to people worldwide.

www.scottishbooktrust.com   @scottishbktrust   www.facebook.com/scottishbktrust