Why it's vitally important that kids from all social circumstances get access to books - A ReadItTorial

Once again we're preparing our wares!

It's the time of year where the publishing industry traditionally enters complete overdrive, in order to promote and push books they'd really love you to buy your little ones over the Holiday / Festive period.

We were recently contacted by the lovely folk at Bushel & Peck Books who have recently taken on a huge task over in the US - to ensure that kids from all social backgrounds and circumstances get access to dazzlingly brilliant books.

David and Stephanie Miles have a fantastic idea to address the fact that for every 300 kids in certain poorer neighbourhoods stateside, there's only one book owned. That's a pretty shocking statistic, particularly when you consider it's A) very similar here in the UK and B) like the UK, stateside library services are also suffering from cuts and a gradual decline as other services are seen as more important in poorer communities.

Bushel and Peck's Kickstarter is live, and we think it's a cause worth supporting so hop on over there and give David and Stephanie some support, whichever side of the pond you live on.

Here at ReadItDaddy we're about to pack up our review copy surplus again for our Annual Book Sale in aid of our local church's charities. We always have a lot of fun doing this, but more than that we get a huge, huge kick out of seeing kids walking away with a prized book that they may not have been able to afford otherwise. We mark our books down accordingly, and though the aim is to raise money for the charities mentioned, it's definitely hugely satisfying when a child comes along with a bit of their pocket money, or parents on a low income come along to pick up a bargain or two - hopefully getting as much enjoyment out of those wonderful books as we do.

There's a clear link between children having ready access to their own books at home and their development / learning journeys in school being positively affected by this. Something that's been charted and talked about for many years in fact. Both my wife and I know that reading aloud to our daughter means that she can cope with the language and literacy workload at school when others in her class / year are still struggling. But it should never have to be about how much money you have, or whether you can afford books - books should be available to all kids in copious amounts, and our library services (who are often the only places kids can go and grab a massively diverse range of books) should be supported and well funded.

Do drop along to our book sale if you're in Abingdon on Saturday 1st December 2018 - at 35 Ock Street! We'd love to see you!