Booking in for first birthday

9:31am Wednesday 24th January 2001

The first birthday of Croydons parents and babies reading initiative was celebrated at Croydon Central Library, Katharine Street, last week.

Bookstart encourages parents to share books with their children from an early age and since its launch, more than 8,000 babies and parents have visited Croydons libraries to take part in a variety of rhymetime and drop-in events.

And as an added incentive to join a library, babies attending their seven-nine month health check are offered a Bookstart bag containing a selection of free books.

Croydons cabinet member for culture, Councillor Raj Chandarana, said he was delighted by the success of the initiative. He said research shows children introduced to books at an early age are at an advantage when they start school, often achieving higher standards of literacy and numeracy in the long run.

He added: With this in mind, and the incentives on offer, we hope that many more parents will be encouraged to enrol their babies at the local library.

Part of a national programme organised by Book Trust, the initiative is supported locally by Croydon Council and Croydon Community Health Trust.

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