Supporting Parents, Carers and Families
We support parents, carers and families to get reading with their children from their earliest days because sharing stories together regularly, in the early years and beyond, has transformative and lifechanging benefits.
Sharing books and stories
Fitting in some time together to share a story or book with your child can:
- help your child learn words and express themselves.
- help them feel close and connected to you
- teach them about the world and about different kinds of people.
- be relaxing and help your child learn to regulate their feelings.
- spark their imagination and creativity that you might see in their pretend play and the stories they make up!
You don’t have to read a book cover to cover, get all the words right or even read them at all (you can just talk about the pictures!) to experience these benefits.
We’re here to help
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Search thousands of hand-picked book recommendations to find a child’s next favourite read – from astonishing adventures to fantastic facts, our Bookfinder tool will help you discover the very best kids’ books
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Sharing stories with your child is a great way to have a moment of closeness, laughing and talking together. It can also help them learn more about the world around them.
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Looking for something fun as a family? Enjoy storytime with our free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
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Looking for a great book on a theme? Our booklists can help you discover some brilliant books that children will love
- If you would like to find brilliant book ideas for your child’s age and stage check out Bookfinder
- If you aren’t sure how to get and keep your child interested in books and stories we have some tips here: Reading together at home
- If you want to find some activities to do around stories and reading to extend the fun, also check out have fun at home
Tell us what you think
If you’ve received one of our Bookstart Baby or Toddler packs, don’t forget to fill in our short feedback survey for your chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher!
Complete the surveyProgrammes for children ages 0–7
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Every child in England, Wales and Northern Ireland aged 0 to 12 months is eligible for our free book pack, designed to help families to read and share stories with their child from as early as possible.
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Our Bookstart Toddler and Pre-schooler/Nursery programmes for children are designed to support families to read and share stories together.
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BookTrust Storytime is an exciting library experience for families, offering a fun, free, and easy way to entertain under 5s at local libraries.
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Our Welsh bilingual Early Years programme for children is designed to support families to read and share stories together.
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Pori Drwy Stori is an exciting bilingual programme for Nursery and Reception aged children in Wales, aimed at developing their literacy, numeracy, speaking and listening skills to support Foundation Learning.
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Big Welsh Rhyme Time is our annual celebration of sharing rhymes, poems and songs. It’s rhyming fun for everyone!
Helpful Resources
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Potty training is an important part of a pre-schooler’s life, and it can help to see a character in a book doing it too. It’s also important to have funny books to read when on the potty! Here is a selection of books that might encourage a young child to focus on toilet training.
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Reading books to children has lots of amazing benefits, even when they’re learning to read – or can read – themselves. Cuddling up together to share a story or a fascinating information book is a great way to bond. This experience can in the long term give children improved mental wellbeing and the tools to progress at school. But, most importantly, it’s fun! We hope you enjoy settling down together with these brilliant books.
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Author Susannah Lloyd shares her tips for reading aloud with children, and shares how it can support communication skills.
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Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man has been getting children reading for what seems like forever. The hilarious comic combines illustrations with an explosion of colour, with a wacky storyline! But after seven years and 11 books of laughter, you may be wondering where next? What will keep you laughing and loving reading? Here are our suggestions for you.
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