Early Years

The early years of a child's life are crucial for their development - and your donations are helping us support families with books and resources at this vital time.

Bookstart Baby

Every child aged 0-12 months is eligible for a free Bookstart Baby pack designed to support and encourage families to read with their child as early as possible. For many babies, the books from BookTrust will be the first books they own.

In 2021/2022, nearly 514,000 children received a Bookstart Baby pack. 

Donate now to help us support families in the early years

Our Bookstart programme also includes packs for children with additional needs: Bookstart Shine for children who are deaf, Bookstart Touch for children with a visual impairment and Bookstart Star for children with conditions affecting their fine motor skills. We are also able to provide dual language packs.

Make a difference and donate today

Targeted Early Years programmes

Every family is different. And some families need extra support to make reading a life-long habit.

In 2021/2022, we worked extensively with families and partners to design a large-scale pilot which will reach 425,000 children in 2022/2023 with books and reading resources.

We aim to increase our reach from around 4% of low-income families with children aged 1-4, to over 50% – delivering on one of the key objectives of our new strategy.

Donate now to support the families who need our help most

Time to Read

We sent 740,722 Time to Read packs to reception classes throughout England and Northern Ireland.

As children start school, life at home can become hectic and it can be hard to balance homework with reading for fun.

We know that reading together has a positive impact on children's imagination, language, and emotional wellbeing.

Already a BookTrust Friend but want to increase your gift? Email us at [email protected] and our team will help you out.