Families in Stoke will enjoy stories in the park over the
summer holidays as Stoke on Trent Libraries’ Little Library Van tours the city’s
green spaces.
The van will visit six different parks across
Stoke-on-Trent, helping families to discover a love of books and reading by
sharing stories, nursery rhymes and songs. The team on board will also sign
families up to their local library.
Local author and Stoke Reads ambassador Kate Leake will join
the Little Library Van roadshow on 3, 8 and 22 August to entertain families
with her brilliant stories, which include Never Say No to a Princess and her
latest book, The Best Chip.
Families can catch the Little Library Van at:
- Tunstall Park: Tuesday 25 July 10am-3pm
- Bucknall Park: Tuesday 1 August 10am-3pm
- Westport Lake: Thursday 3 August 11am-3pm
- Hanley Park: Tuesday 8 August 10am-3pm
- Longton Park: Tuesday 22 August 10am-3pm
- Fenton Park: Tuesday 29 August 10am-3pm
Stoke City FC’s official mascot, Pottermus, will also join
the events at Hanley Park and Longton Park, handing out free books to children
after they’ve explored the Little Library Van. The football club is supporting
the Stoke Reads campaign and is committed to promoting literacy in the city.
Janet Thursfield, Strategic Manager for Libraries and
Archives said:
“We are really excited about working with partners such as
Stoke FC and Kate Leake and hope lots of children and families join us for
stories, rhymes and songs. It is a fantastic way to get children and families
enthused about books.”
Councillor Janine Bridges, Stoke-on-Trent City Council
cabinet member for education and economy, said:
“We’re committed to making the very most of our city parks –
they are enjoyed by people young and old and lots of families, especially
during the summer months. It’s a fantastic opportunity to have the Little
Library Van visit these popular locations and there will be lots of fun activities
taking place too. We’re shortlisted to be UK City of Culture 2021, and these
activities promote the importance of reading, our beautiful open spaces and
encourage our city’s children to widen their cultural horizons.”
Richard Adams, Community Projects Officer at Stoke City FC
said:
‘’Through the delivery of our Primary Stars programme to
5-11 year olds in Stoke-on-Trent schools we are having a positive impact on the
literacy skills of the young people in the City. The ‘Stoke Reads’ project is
an excellent way of further engaging with both children and parents and we are
looking forward to having a presence in the parks this summer.”
Hanley Park is running a series of events over the summer
holidays in support of Stoke Reads. Each event is themed around one of 17
titles on the Stoke 100 Reads list, which all have an outdoor-theme. Find out
more at www.facebook.com/hanleypark.
Stoke Reads is a campaign from the National Literacy Trust
and Stoke-on-Trent City Council to promote reading and raise literacy levels in
the city. Find out more at www.stokereads.org.uk.