The nation’s favourite nursery rhyme is revealed

A new survey has revealed that parents in the Midlands are top of the class when it comes to singing nursery rhymes with their children.

More than 42% of parents in the Midlands answered that they often sing nursery rhymes with their children, which put them joint first in the UK with parents in Wales.

Over 2,500 people participated in the survey for National Bookstart Day, which takes place this Friday (Friday 9 October).  National Bookstart Day celebrates the Bookstart programme, which gives three packs of free books to every child in the UK and encourages sharing books with children from as young an age as possible.

The theme of this year’s National Bookstart Day is My Favourite Rhyme.

The top ten nationally are:

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
2. Incey Wincey Spider
3. Round and Round the Garden
4. Baa Baa Black Sheep
5. The Grand Old Duke of York
6. If You’re Happy and You Know It
7. Humpty Dumpty
8. This Little Piggy
9. Ring a Ring a Roses
10. I’m a Little Teapot

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was the favourite amongst all the regions in the UK, apart from the north east which chose Incey Wincey Spider.

**For the full results of the survey please contact Katherine Solomon on 0208 875 4583 or katherine@booktrust.org.uk**

Wriggly Rhymes

Shepshed and Kegworth libraries are celebrating National Bookstart Day 2009 at their next Wriggly Readers sessions, both events will take place on Thursday 8th October, Shepshed 10:00 to 10:30 and Kegworth; 10.30 to 11.15am.

Bookstart aims to help every child in the UK to develop a lifelong love of books and this year’s programme will offer millions of children and parents the chance to discover the joy of reading together.

Favourite rhymes such as; Little Miss Muffet, Little Bo Peep and even Incey Wincey Spider will be out in force this in Celebration of National Bookstart Day but we want you to come along and tell us your favourites.

For further details please contact Shepshed Library on 0116 3033678 or Kegworth Library on 0116 3053609 or visit http://www.leics.gov.uk/bookstart

Wriggly Rhymes

Shepshed and Kegworth libraries are celebrating National Bookstart Day 2009 at their next Wriggly Readers sessions, both events will take place on Thursday 8th October, Shepshed 10:00am to 10:30am and Kegworth 10:30am to 11:15am.

Bookstart aims to help every child in the UK to develop a lifelong love of books and this year’s programme will offer millions of children and parents the chance to discover the joy of reading together.

Favourite rhymes such as; Little Miss Muffet, Little Bo Peep and even Incey Wincey Spider will be out in force this in Celebration of National Bookstart Day but we want you to come along and tell us your favourites.

For further details please contact Shepshed Library on 0116 3033678 or Kegworth Library on 0116 3053609 or visit www.bookstart.org.uk

http://www.leics.gov.uk/shephed_library

http://www.leics.gov.uk/kegworth_library

Wriggly Readers

We have had a lot of positive comments from customers attending our Wriggly reader sessions, so we thought we would share some of these positive comments:

“It’s good to get out and meet new mums, dads and children, my child loves learning words and songs and meeting other babies”

“I love meeting and talking to other parents, it gives me structure to the week, its such fun and a great social activity for my baby”

“It helps me get out of the house and for my child to make new friends”

“My son loves the songs and joining in with the movements”

“My child loves to watch other children and join in with the songs”

“A fantastic opportunity to enjoy music and stories with my daughter, it encourages her love of music and books and is very stimulating”

“I enjoy meeting other mums and think the sessions are really fun”

“The sessions have really developed my granddaughter’s love of the library”

“Makes the library a fun place to be, in time I hope it will help her get over her shyness”

Please feel free to share your comments below!

Wriggle along to Earl Shilton Library every Wednesday

The huge popularity of Earl Shilton Library’s weekly story and rhyme time group, Wriggly Readers, has meant sessions have been split into two.

The sessions are held every Wednesday. The first group starts at 10am and is aimed at children aged between two and five years of age.

The 11am group is very popular with new mums and the under twos, but come along to which ever session suits you and your child best.

Wriggly Readers are a great way to introduce your child to books, songs and nursery rhymes.

They also provide a good opportunity to meet other mums, dads, grandparents or carers, and for children to socialise with other children of a similar age.

All libraries across Hinckley and Bosworth offer a Wriggly Readers session at least once a month and details of all sessions can be found at www.leics.gov.uk/wrigglyreaders, or by contacting your local library.

Festival celebrations to launch new reading garden!

Come and join the fun and activities at Newbold Verdon Library next week.  The library is holding a three-day Community Festival (11th-13th August) to celebrate the opening of the its newly created reading garden.  To mark the occasion, Roger Wilson, the Chairman of Leicestershire County Council will unveil and name a fabulous sculpture and declare the reading garden officially open on Wednesday 12th August at 11am.

The sculpture has been created by local residents who worked alongside Gwyn Williams, a sculptor from Hinckley, to design 96 individual plaques.  The reading garden at the side of the library will contain six mosaics, also designed by local people and created by local artist, Jo Allsopp.

The festival starts on Tuesday 11th August at 10.30am with a special wriggly reader’s session celebrating ‘The Gruffalo’ – famous childrens character.  An exciting Questseeker’s event for children under 11 will be taking place in the afternoon.

On Wednesday 12th August as well as the official opening of the reading garden, families can enjoy an afternoon full of fun – from 2pm there will be a circus skills workshop, ballon modelling, face painting and storytelling activities to name but a few.

On Thursday 13th August there will be a Manga and Graphic drawing workshop in the morning, followed by tea and tales – a talk about the life and works of Agatha Christie with local expert, John Martin.

Roger Wilson, Chairman of Leicestershire County Council, said:

“The reading garden is a lovely peaceful area and is a great community space for everyone to enjoy.  Libraries now offer so much more than the traditional lending of books such as the many activities taking place at the community festival.  I would encourage everyone to come along, have some fun and see for themselves.”

All of the events during the festival are free and everyone is welcome, but due to demand Tuesday’s and Thursday’s events need pre-booking.

For more details or to book a place, please visit the library or contact

Gill Harris on 0116 305 3660.

Spy Dog author visits Loughborough Library

Local best selling author Andrew Cope will be coming to Loughborough Library on Thursday 18th June between 3.45 and 4.45pm.

Previously a lecturer at Loughborough College, Andrew has found great international success with his award winning series of children’s books inspired by his family’s pet dog, Lara.  The ‘Spy Dog’ series features five books which follow the hilarious adventures of Lara, a dog who is really a secret agent, highly trained to catch criminal masterminds.
The author’s visit is aimed at 8 – 12 year olds and is his second visit to the library.  Liz Evans, Library Development Worker at the library said:

‘We’re really looking forward to Andrew’s visit.  We had over 40 children come to see him and Lara last year, and he’s likely to be even more popular now because he was on the Leicestershire Children’s Book Prize shortlist.  I would urge anyone wanting to come to book their place as soon as possible.’

Bookings can be made by contacting the library on 01509 212985.  The event is free of charge, but Andrew will be bringing copies of his books to buy and will be signing books on the day.

Library May Time Fun

May Time fun takes place in two Leicestershire libraries this half-term.

Burbage library will be hosting a FREE, ticketed event on Thursday 28th May, 10.30 – 11.30am, and this will be repeated at Hinckley library on the same day at 2.30 – 3.30pm.

Children aged 5-9 years and their parents/carers are invited to come along for stories and crafts.

Tickets must be booked in advance for Burbage Library’s event and can be reserved by calling the library on: 0116 305 3558.  Come along and join in the fun!

For more information contact Hinckley Library

Family Reading Groups at Fleckney Library

Do you have a child/children aged between 4 & 7 Years old?
Would you like to support & encourage their reading in a fun & friendly environment?
Why not join Fleckney Library’s Family Reading group?

Family Reading Groups will be held once a month for about an hour from 6-7pm in the Library.  The next meeting will be on 19th may.

If you would like to join the group or find out more contact Fleckney Library

Children’s Author at Blaby Library

Blaby’s children are in for a real treat this April as local author, Pippa Goodhart, is holding a story telling session at Blaby Library. Pippa is renowned for her fanastic children’s sessions and will be reading from some of her many published works.

The session is for 5 – 11 year olds on Tuesday 21st April at 4:30-5:30. Tickets are FREE and available from Blaby Library on a first come, first served basis. So book early to avoid disappointment as this is sure to be a really popular event.

Blaby Library Telephone: 0116 305 3516