The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

2m free books for kids

09.06.08 Anna Richardson

Two million free books will be given to reception-aged and Year 7 pupils in England by Christmas, in a programme run by independent charity Booktrust, and supported by the government.

The Booktime programme for reception-aged pupils (4-5-years-old) and the Booked Up programme for Year 7 pupils (aged 11-12) aim to encourage reading for pleasure and are supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families with an allocation of more than £4m, making both programmes free to all participating schools.

Booktime is run in association with Pearson and will give a copy of Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School by Ian Whybrow to children, while Booked Up allows each child to make their own choice from 12 titles titles, ranging from Catherine Johnson's Arctic Hero (Barrington Stoke) to Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant (HarperCollins).

In addition, poetry anthologies will be distributed to both age groups, with an abridged edition of The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems for reception-aged pupils and Read Me and Laugh for Year 7 children.

The programmes are supported by website, www.booktime.org.uk and www.bookedup.org.uk.

Booktrust director Viv Bird said: “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.”

BOOKED UP LIST IN FULL:

Arctic Hero by Catherine Johnson (Barrington Stoke)
Heartbeat by Sharon Creech (Bloomsbury)
H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden (Bloomsbury)
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy (HarperCollins)
The Garbage King by Elizabeth Laird (Macmillan)
The Black Book of Secrets by F E Higgins (Macmillan)
Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy (Puffin)
Football Detective: Foul Play by Tom Palmer (Puffin)
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd (David Fickling)
Kiss Of Death by Malcolm Rose (Usborne Publishing)
Why Eating Bogeys Is Good for You by Mitchell Symons (Doubleday)
Read Me and Laugh by Gaby Morgan (Macmillan)

Picture Book Option:
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Marcia Williams (Walker)

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