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Thousands of books given to primary school children for Scottish Book Week!
Every pupil in Primary 1 to 3 in Scotland will receive books as part of the annual Book Week Scotland celebrations this week. Now in its eighth year, Book Week is run by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing.
Primary 1 pupils from Simpson Primary School in Bathgate, West Lothian, joined Bookbug at Spring Distribution centre, to mark nearly half a million books being gifted to schools in Scotland as part of Book Week Scotland.
Almost two thirds of Scots agree that reading helps improve family bonding, with this increasing to over 70 per cent for those who were regularly read to as a child themselves, according to a survey carried out for the trust. Incorporating reading into childhood has a huge impact on educational attainment as well as wellbeing, confidence and mental health, and accomplishment in later life.
63,500 bags will be gifted to Primary 1 pupils across Scotland, plus 750 Gaelic bags, all containing three books each. The books included in the Bookbug Primary 1 Family Bag are shortlisted for the Bookbug Picture Book Prize, which celebrates the very best of Scottish authors and illustrators. The titles are: The Prince and the Witch and the Thief and the Bears by Alastair Chisholm, illustrated by Jez Tuya; Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad and The Station Mouse by Meg McLaren.
New books, writing materials and counting games will also be included in this year’s Read, Write and Count bags, gifted to all Primary 2 and Primary 3 pupils in Scotland. More than 133,500 bags of books will be distributed during Book Week Scotland.
This year’s bags will contain books such as The King Cat by Marta Altés and You're Called What?! by Kes Gray and Nikki Dyson, along with storytelling cards and dice, number games and a guide for parents to help them incorporate easy and fun reading, writing and counting activities into their family’s day to day lives.
Every child is also encouraged to take part in The Bookbug Picture Book Prize, sponsored by Browns Books for Students, by voting on Scottish Book Trust’s website. The winning book will be announced in an exclusive video to all registered groups on 29 January 2020.
An activity book and colouring pencils with fun ideas to enjoy reading, writing and counting together will also be included in the Primary 1 Bookbug Family Bag, as well as a white board with a pen and set of magnetic numbers.
Gaelic Bookbug Primary 1 Family Bags are also available for P1 children in Gaelic Medium Education. There are also Gaelic Read Write Count bags for P2 and P3 pupils in Gaelic Medium Education.