Scottish Book Trust launches bedtime-themed book event

Launched today, the annual event run by the Scottish Book Trust, which is designed to encourage parents and children to share books together, is part of the scheme for every child in Scotland to receive four free bags of books throughout their childhood: one around six weeks, at 18 months, at three years old and at the start of primary school.

The theme of this year’s Bookbug Week is ‘Bookbug’s Big Bedtime Story’.

To celebrate the start of Bookbug Week, children from Murrayfield Nursery snuggled in bed with children’s author Debi Gliori, the Bookbug mascot and sheep (pictured) to discover whether sharing a story or counting sheep is the best path to a good night’s sleep.

Throughout the week a number of events are taking place across Scotland featuring appearances from children’s authors and illustrators, including an Authors Live event streamed to schools and nurseries across the country on Thursday 21 March.

The flagship Bookbug Week event will take place on Tuesday 19 May at Rozelle House and Maclaurin Art Gallery in South Aryshire, where families with young children will be invited to get creative with arts and crafts and bedtime stories. There will also be a Magic Garden sensory area, a Book Trail and Snuggle Village.

According to a YouGov poll, conducted in April, 72 per cent of Scottish parents introduced their child to books within the first 12 months of their lives.

Of the 659 parents that took part in the survey, 29 per cent said they had started reading to their child between birth and three months old, 23 per cent between four and six months, 11 per cent between seven and nine months, and nine per cent between ten and 12 months.

Marc Lambert, director of Scottish Book Trust, said, ‘Sharing a book with your child on a regular basis, from as early an age as possible, is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to make a real difference to their future. You might feel silly reading to a tiny newborn, or even to your bump, but your baby will listen closely to the rhythm of your voice and the speech patterns, laying strong foundations for later language development. It’s never too late to get started though – at any age your child will soon realise that books equal cuddles, helping to inspire a love of reading which will last a lifetime.

‘Bookbug Week is the perfect time to celebrate the joy that books can bring with your little ones – with hundreds of free events across the country we hope as many parents and children as possible will join us for some songs, rhymes and stories.’

• For more information about the events taking place visit the Scottish Booktrust website