South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 05/02/2016

South Gloucestershire’s libraries have been giving families with children aged 5-years-old and under a free Bookstart Bear sticker storybook to encourage them to read more with their children.

The ‘Bear’s Reading Adventure’ sticker book has been written and produced by children’s reading charity BookTrust and was handed out at all South Gloucestershire libraries throughout January.

The story follows Bookstart Bear on his reading adventure, however there are ten objects missing from his adventure which are revealed by collecting special stickers. Children then earn a sticker every time they take out books from the library.

Chair of South Gloucestershire Council Cllr Erica Williams joined local children and the Bookstart Bear at Cadbury Heath Library at the end of January for a fun session of stories and rhymes. Every child who attended was given a copy of the Bear’s Reading Adventure sticker book.

Cllr Erica Williams said: “This fantastic initiative is hoped to encourage families to visit the library regularly and read together every day. Libraries are a wonderful resource, whatever your age. The library services and events for babies, toddlers and their families are really valuable to a child’s early development, wellbeing and enjoyment, and can inspire a love of reading that will give them a head start in life. Libraries also provide a good opportunity for parents to meet others in a welcoming and friendly environment.”

When children have collected all ten stickers they can download a certificate from www.bookstart.org.uk/bearsadventure which also contains more tips for families on how they can have fun reading together every day.

BookTrust created Bear’s Reading Adventure to help libraries achieve the aims of the Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians’ (ASCEL) Children’s Promise, to provide more opportunities for families to participate and engage with their local library services; and to make library visits inspiring and exciting.

All South Gloucestershire Libraries hold regular weekly events for babies and toddlers, including rhyme times, story times and play sessions and parents/carers are asked to contact their local library for details.

To find details of local libraries visit www.southglos.gov.uk/libraries and www.southglos.gov.uk/childrenslibrary to find out more about the weekly sessions.