BookTrust and Sun on Sunday Books for Kids Campaign

BookTrust is so grateful to The Sun on Sunday readers for helping us to get books to families who have been hardest hit by the pandemic and who are missing out on access to books. 

Your support for the Books for Kids campaign will help us to reach as many families as possible, working with schools, housing associations, children’s centres and other partners so that children across England, Wales and Northern Ireland don’t miss out on the lifechanging benefits of reading and sharing stories.

Diana Gerald, BookTrust CEO says:

"We know that the past ten months have been really hard for families and children.  Reading is such a great way for children to relax, get off those screens and it's great for their education too. We're really pleased to be partnering with The Sun on Sunday to get books into the hands of children who really need them. We're asking readers to send in their old, torn and worn-out books that we’ll recycle and in return, then we’ll send out brand new books to children right across the country."

How you can help

The Sun on Sunday are asking for you to send in your old children’s books, no matter how ripped and tatty. They will then pay to recycle them before we begin free distribution of brand new, carefully picked books to children via schools, children’s centres, food banks, refuges and family support teams.

You can either post your old books or send them via Hermes, which has agreed to deliver the packages at a reduced rate of £1.99 for a medium sized box. 

Sending by post

The address to send your old books to is: Books For Kids, PO Box 485, Grays, Essex RM17 7HY.

Sending by Hermes

1. Go to myhermes.co.uk and select “Return A Parcel”. Search for “The Sun on Sunday” and click on The Sun on Sunday logo. 
2. Enter “books” in the order ID field, enter your email address (they need this to send you the postage label) and choose “other” for your reason to return. Choose from ParcelShop drop-off (no printer needed) or courier collection (home printer needed).
3. Pay the £1.99 via debit card and you will receive an email with details of how to print your label at home (if you have chosen a courier collection). Or if you have chosen ParcelShop drop-off, take your phone or tablet and your parcel to your nearest Hermes ParcelShop, show the shopkeeper the QR code on the email – and your label can be printed in the shop and attached to your parcel.

To find your nearest Hermes ParcelShop, just enter your postcode in the Hermes ParcelShop finder on the website.