Coelho and Donaldson titles picked for Bookbug programme

Scottish Book Trust will distribute 800,000 titles by authors such as David Melling, Joseph Coelho and Julia Donaldson to toddlers across Scotland as part of the Bookbug initiative.

Every 0-3 year-old in the country will receive either a baby bag, a toddler bag or an ‘explorer’ bag (for three-year-olds) from a health visitor or their nursery. The baby bags contain All About Spot by Eric Hill (Penguin), One Sleepy Night by Sebastien Braun (Little Tiger) and Baby Says Peekaboo (DK).

The books in the toddler bag are One Mole Digging a Hole by Julia Donaldson & Nick Sharratt (MacMillan), Funny Bunnies Up and Down by David Melling (Hachette) and Tuck Me In by Dean Hacohen & Sherry Scharschmidt (Walker Books), whilst the explorer bag features Car Car Truck Jeep by Katrina Charman & Nick Sharratt (Bloomsbury), Look & Say What You See in the Town by Sebastien Braun (Nosy Crow) and Luna Loves Library Day by Joseph Coelho and Fiona Lumbers (Anderson Press).

Some of the titles are also available in Gaelic on request and Bookbug can provide tactile books for children with additional needs. 

The Bookbug programme is managed by Scottish Book Trust and run in partnership with libraries, local authorities, health professionals and nurseries, and is funded by the Scottish government.

Marc Lambert, c.e.o. of Scottish Book Trust, said: “We are delighted to be gifting free books to every baby, toddler and three-year-old in Scotland through our Bookbug bags. Every bag contains a fantastic selection of reading material, handpicked by our early years experts. We hope families have a wonderful time enjoying these stories together, and can integrate them into their daily routine.”