Free books offered to Wicklow children starting school in September
Children leaving pre-school and starting primary school are invited to visit their local library to pick up a book bag and take the opportunity to join the library as part of the 'My Little Library 'initiative.
Cllr Graham Richmond, a teacher at East Glendalough School in Wicklow town, is encouraging local children to take-up the opportunity to help them prepare for the start of school.
He said: 'The books and resources in the book bag support parents and their children in the transition to primary school. 110,000 free books will be available nationally and books are available in both English and Irish. This is great news for families with young children in Wicklow, who want to take the time over the summer to prepare their children to transition to primary school.
'The bags will be available throughout the summer, and I encourage all families to join their local library in Wicklow if they aren't already members. The children can join their library along with their families, and choose their own books to borrow, all for free. For many children in Wicklow, this could be the start of a lifelong love of reading.'
Librarians are keenly aware of the benefits that reading brings to children and library staff across all 13 of Wicklow's libraries and look forward to welcoming lots of new children in the coming months to collect their little bag of books and get their first library card.
Cllr Richmond added: 'These books and stories will help each child prepare for this big step. Books are a great way of helping parents support their children with their early language and literacy development. I urge every family with a child starting primary school this September to avail of this initiative and pick up their 'Little Library' book bag from their local library in Wicklow.'
Each of the bags contains a book on starting school and a second book on making friends or being comfortable to be yourself. They also include their very own library card and special 'my little library' cardholder. They also come complete with a range of resources for parents/children to support the transition to primary school, including a copy of the Rufus Handwashing Storybook.
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