About Bookbug

Bookbug is Scottish Book Trust's Early Years programme, encouraging parents and children to read together from birth. The Bookbug programme provides free packs of books to every child in Scotland. It also involves a range of fun, free activities such as Bookbug Sessions.

Bookbug Packs

Bookbug gifts books to every baby, toddler, 3- and 5-year-old in Scotland in 5 packs:

* Baby pack (gifted by your health visitor in your baby’s first year)
* Toddler pack (gifted by your health visitor when your toddler is aged 1-2 years
* Pirate pack (gifted at nursery when your child is aged 3 years)
* P1 book (gifted at school when your child is in P1)
* Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: a book sent monthly to every Looked After child in Scotland from birth to 5 years

Bookbug Sessions

Bookbug Sessions are free, fun-filled sessions of stories, songs and rhymes for parents and children aged birth to 4 years, available at your local library or community group. Click here for details of your local Bookbug Session.

Evaluation

We are constantly looking for ways to improve our programme, but to do that, we need your help. On our website, you will find a number of surveys covering different aspects of the programme. Please encourage parents to complete our on-line evaluation surveys. They will be entered into a quarterly prize draw to win £50 worth of picture books!

Bookbug Patron

We’re very honoured that Julia Donaldson is Bookbug’s patron. Julia is the creator of the best-selling rhyming picture book The Gruffalo, which was made into an Oscar-nominated animated film last year. Julia lives in Glasgow and to date has written 160 books.

Funding

Bookbug is run by Scottish Book Trust and funded by The Scottish Government. Bookbug Session Training is funded by Creative Scotland. Local pack gifting and coordination of Bookbug Sessions and Bookbug’s Library Challenge are organised by local authorities via the library service or education department in conjunction with the NHS. Scottish Book Trust promotes books, reading and writing to babies, children and adults across Scotland.

Gifting Partnerships

Libraries coordinate the majority of local Bookbug programmes, host events and gift a huge number of our free packs of books to babies and children. By promoting a lifelong love of books, we hope to encourage families with young children to become library members and long-term active library users.

Health professionals are our principal gifting partners of Bookbug Baby and Bookbug Toddler packs to babies and young children. The programme complements key aspects of children's health by benefitting their development educationally, culturally, socially and emotionally.

Early Years Settings (such as nurseries) are the principal access route for children to receive their Bookbug Pirate packs and are greatly valued gifting partners.

Local Authorities support Bookbug by funding Co-ordinators and project workers, providing storage and delivery of packs and promoting the programme in their local area.

If you have any questions about the Bookbug programme, please contact a member of the Early Years Team on bookbug@scottishbooktrust.com

Play Talk Read

Bookbug is delighted to be supporting Play Talk Read again this year. Look out for the purple Play Talk Read playbus coming to an area near you! The tour dates will be updated regularly online.

You can find out more about the campaign on the Play Talk Read website.