Thank you! Bookstart 20 campaign smashes 10,000 pledge target

Over 12,000 people have pledged their support to Bookstart

We are thrilled to announce that the Bookstart 20 campaign has surpassed its target of 10,000 pledges.

Launched in February, the campaign marks the 20th anniversary of Bookstart - the bookgifting programme for babies and toddlers. Bookstart 20 aimed to secure 10,000 pledges from people vowing to share 20 books by the end of this year and we have reached this four months ahead of target.

Viv Bird, Chief Executive of Booktrust, said:

'We are overwhelmed by this level of support, which is an indication of how much Bookstart is central to the cultural and educational life of our country. Giving books to children so they can discover the delights of reading for themselves is truly at the heart of what we believe to be important. Loved and valued both for its educational merit as well as its emphasis on strengthening parental bonding, Bookstart works hard to ensure that no child misses out, helping parents and children of all backgrounds to bond through shared reading. We hope that your 10,000 pledges and the extraordinary messages of support we received, will demonstrate to supporters, partners and funders that even in times of austerity, perhaps especially in times of austerity, Bookstart is a vital component of a happy and thriving society.'

In addition to the many public pledges, the campaign has seen tremendous support from celebrities including Jamie Oliver, Philip Pullman, Joanna Trollope, Michael Rosen.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown said:

'I would have ended up mentally ill without books to take me away from a traumatic family life when I was growing up. Reading saved my mum too from misery and hopelessness. We could be free and happy, go anywhere, be anything in that imagined world. Bookstart is not only encouraging reading, it is saving lives. I am proud to be associated with the campaign.'

Bookstart 20 also held a celebratory event at the Kensington Roof Gardens during National Bookstart Week earlier this year. We were delighted to welcome Booktrust's patron, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall at the event, reading Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy to a group of children and cutting the Bookstart birthday cake.

Other highlights of the campaign included a Bookstart event at this year's IBBY Congress, which featured representatives from Bookstart affiliates around the world and demonstrated the global impact of the Bookstart programme.

Bookstart funding remains uncertain for next year, but we hope that this demonstrable support will encourage key players to continue their backing for this much loved reading programme for years to come.