Initiative to give a free book to every five-year-old and 11-year-old across the country
Booktrust today announces that over two million free books will be given to every reception-aged pupil and Year 7 pupil in England by Christmas 2008.
The Booktime programme for reception-aged pupils (4-5 years old) and Booked Up programme for Year 7 pupils (aged 11-12), are both run by the independent national charity Booktrust, with the aim of encouraging reading for pleasure. The programmes are supported by the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families) with an allocation of over £4m, making both programmes free to all participating schools.
The Booktime programme, which is run in association with education and publishing company Pearson, will this year give a copy of Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School by Ian Whybrow, illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. The packs will also contain a guidance booklet for parents and carers to encourage sharing books with children.
For the first time, free poetry anthologies will be given to both age groups in England. Reception-aged pupils will get a special abridged edition of The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems, while Year 7 pupils will be able to choose a copy of Read Me and Laugh: A Funny Poem for Every Day of the Year (Macmillan).
The Booked Up programme allows each child to make their own choice of book from a selection of 12 titles. The programme encourages Year 7 pupils to read independently and aims to maintain the development of reading levels between Years 6 and 7 as children make the difficult transition from primary to secondary education.
The new Booked Up book list:
Arctic Hero – Catherine Johnson (Barrington Stoke)
Heartbeat – Sharon Creech (Bloomsbury)
H.I.V.E. – Mark Walden (Bloomsbury)
Skulduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy (HarperCollins Children's Books)
The Garbage King – Elizabeth Laird (Macmillan Children's Books)
The Black Book of Secrets - FE Higgins (Macmillan Children's Books)
Scarlett - Cathy Cassidy (Puffin)
Football Detective: Foul Play – Tom Palmer (Puffin)
The London Eye Mystery – Siobhan Dowd (David Fickling Books)
Kiss Of Death – Malcolm Rose (Usborne Publishing)
Why Eating Bogeys Is Good for You – Mitchell Symons (Doubleday)
Read Me and Laugh: A Funny Poem for Every Day of the Year – Gaby Morgan (Macmillan)
Picture Book Option for Pupils with Additional Needs:
The Adventures of Robin Hood - Marcia Williams (Walker Books)
All information about Booktime and Booked Up can be found on their revamped websites www.booktime.org.uk and www.bookedup.org.uk
Other options will also be made available with the aim of catering for the widest range of needs. These will include further picture book selections and two audio book options.
A Booktrust panel – including children’s book expert professionals from the library sector, booksellers, teachers, journalists, and children’s book reviewers – selected the books, which are ideal for reading for pleasure, represent a suitable degree of diversity, use language well and reflect various styles.
Public libraries and school library services are also being offered the opportunity to receive free sets of the books and supporting resources to enhance the Booktime and Booked Up programmes.
Quotes:
Jim Knight, Minister of State for Schools and Learners
"We are delighted that the Booktime and Booked Up programmes have already proved so popular. Giving free books to Reception and Year 7 pupils is a wonderful way to encourage new audiences to discover and consolidate a love of books and reading. We feel sure younger children will enjoy sharing the Booktime story and poetry books with their families and friends, and the range of Booked Up books on offer will help older children want to read on their own. Reading for pleasure is not only instructive as an accompaniment to the school curriculum, but a valuable resource for life.”
Viv Bird, Director of Booktrust:
“Booktrust is delighted to be responsible for putting over a million books into homes and sparking children’s interest in reading. The Booktime book and Booked Up books on the list have been chosen with great care to encourage the simple enjoyment and pleasures of reading among five- and 11-year-olds when they start at primary and secondary school which, for some, can be a stressful time in their lives.”
Marjorie Scardino, CEO, Pearson:
“We started Booktime because we wanted every child in the UK to have a book of their own as they started school, and we’re proud to be working with Booktrust, DCSF and a group of very talented authors to make that possible again this year. We hope Ian Whybrow’s story of Harry’s first day at school plus a first taste of poetry through Puffin’s fantastic poems will be the start of a lifelong love of reading.”
***Interviews are available with the authors from the Booked Up list, Viv Bird, and Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen.
***Images are available
Notes to Editors
• About Booktrust
Booktrust is an independent national charity that encourages people of all ages and cultures to discover and enjoy reading. Booktrust is responsible for a number of successful national reading promotions, sponsored book prizes and creative reading projects aimed at encouraging readers to discover and enjoy books. These include the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, the Children’s Laureate, the Get London Reading campaign, the Booktrust Teenage Prize and Bookstart, the national programme that works through locally based organisations to give a free pack of books to young children, with guidance materials for parents and carers.
• About Pearson
The Booktime programme has already given over a million books to children since it was launched in 2006 by Pearson in association with Booktrust. Pearson is an international media and educational company. Its major businesses are: Pearson Education, the world's leading education business, providing print and digital learning materials and services used by more than 100 million students of all ages every year; The Financial Times Group, which has an international network of business and financial newspapers and online services that are read by millions of business executives and investors every day; and Penguin Group, which is one of the pre-eminent names in consumer publishing, with an unrivalled range of fiction and non-fiction, bestsellers, and classic titles. Through its books, newspapers and online services, Pearson helps people of all ages to live and learn. See www.pearson.com
• About the National Year of Reading
The 2008 National Year of Reading is a year-long celebration of reading, in all its forms. It aims to build a greater national passion for reading – for children, families and adult learners alike. The Year will encourage people to read in businesses, homes, and communities around the country, providing new opportunities to read and helping people to access help and support through schools and libraries. To get involved and sign up to Year of Reading activities in your area, log on to www.yearofreading.org.uk
• The selection panel for the Booked Up book list comprised:
Wendy Cooling, Children’s Publishing Consultant (chair)
Rebecca Wilkie, Children’s Book Editor, Booktrust
Judi James, School librarian, Wolverhampton
Ed Pugh, Year 6 teacher and literacy coordinator, Allfarthing Primary School, Wandsworth
Malorie Blackman, Author
