Bookbug Week: 18 – 24 May 2015
Bookbug, Scotland’s national book gifting programme, today announces details of its annual
Bookbug Week celebrations. Now in its fourth year, Bookbug Week will see thousands of young children and families taking part in free events across Scotland between 18 and 24 May.
The theme this year is Bookbug’s Big Bedtime Story. Babies, toddlers, mums, dads and carers will gather at over 400 special events to enjoy bedtime-themed activities, rhymes, stories and songs. Families can find details of events by visiting http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/bookbugweek or asking at their local library.
The Bookbug programme provides every child in Scotland with four free bags of books, gifting 720,000 books every year. Over 240,000 children in Scotland benefitted last year, with even more set to receive free books in 2015. Bookbug also runs regular free story, song and rhyme events in libraries, shopping centres and other community venues which attracted audiences of over half a million parents and children in 2014-15.
The Bookbug Week 2015 flagship event will be held at Rozelle House and Maclaurin Art Gallery in South Ayrshire on Tuesday 19 May. Hundreds of families with young children will celebrate the programme getting creative with arts and crafts and bedtime stories. Special activities on the day will include a Magic Garden sensory area, a Book Trail and a Snuggle Village.
Elsewhere, author Chae Strathie will deliver a fun-filled Authors Live event that will be streamed to schools, nurseries and homes across the country on 21 May (to register for this event visit http://scottishbooktrust.com/events/authors-live-chae-strathie) and a host of fantastic Bookbug prizes will be up for grabs via Bookbug’s Facebook page and Twitter throughout the week.
Marc Lambert, Director of Scottish Book Trust, said:
“Bookbug Week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the many benefits that come from sharing books, stories and pictures with your child. The early years are vitally important for a child’s development, and enjoying a good book together on a regular basis is one of the simplest and most effective things one can do can make a real difference to their future. That’s why, for Bookbug week, we are inviting every family with young children to take part in the hundreds of free and fun-filled events that are being offered across Scotland to celebrate the joy that comes from sharing and enjoying books together.”
Bookbug Week is the perfect chance to find out more about the Bookbug programme, get involved, meet other families and get ideas on how to make sharing books, songs and rhymes with children a fun part of each day. Introducing children to books at an early age has many wonderful benefits, including building up their confidence and social skills, and giving their speech and language development a real boost.