Bookstart Baby

Last year, your support ensured over half a million Bookstart Baby packs were gifted to babies in England and Wales in their first year of life, encouraging families to share stories and rhymes from the earliest possible moment. Along with a book and finger puppet, our packs explain the benefits of sharing stories and include tips on how to get started. 

Support families to access the magic of reading, become a BookTrust Friend

Fiona's story

Fiona Osmond is a children’s physiotherapist. She worked with Wiltshire Council to bring Bookstart Baby to parents with babies in neonatal care.

"The only touch you can often get is from putting your hands through incubator doors… There was one dad who was very fearful about handling his baby... Reading the Bookstart Baby book gave him much more confidence. For him, it was a way of helping his little girl and adding to her day."

Read how Bookstart Baby helps support the parents of premature babies

Liz's story

We spoke to mum Liz in Shropshire to find out how her youngest child's Bookstart Baby pack is helping her whole family to share stories together – and why it's the "perfect wind-down time".

"We try to enjoy a story together as a family every night," she said.

"It's a time where nothing else matters. It doesn't matter if there's laundry to do or dishes to wash. Just being able to sit there, have that half an hour of closeness with the kids and unwind is lovely.

"The children like that warmth from it, the feeling of having that time with me, especially with the new baby."

Find out more about Liz's story