Bookstart gives free packs of books and information to parents of babies and pre-school children, to encourage a love of reading.

Bookstart is a national programme that encourages parents to share and enjoy books with their children, from an early age.

Baby pack

Your Health Visitor will give you your pack at the development check between 8 and 12 months.

If your child has had their check and didn't get a pack, you can pick one up at your local library. You'll need your child's red Health Record book.

Bookstart Treasure Bag

Children get this pack from their preschool or nursery when they're three or four years old.

If your child hasn't got a pack or doesn't attend preschool or nursery, ask at your local library. You'll need your child's red Health Record book.

This pack is also available in:

  • Albanian
  • Arabic
  • Bengali
  • Bulgarian
  • Chinese Traditional and Chinese Simplified
  • Croatian
  • Czech
  • Farsi
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Gujarati
  • Hindi
  • Hungarian
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Kurdish
  • Latvian
  • Lithuanian
  • Nepalese
  • Panjabi
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Slovakian
  • Somali
  • Spanish
  • Tagalog
  • Tamil
  • Turkish
  • Urdu
  • Vietnamese

For more details, contact the Bookstart Coordinator.

Book packs for children with an impairment

Special packs are available for children up to the age of four who:

  • have a visual impairment
  • are deaf or hard of hearing

For more details, contact the Bookstart Coordinator on 0117 3534297 or email childrenslibrary.team@bristol.gov.uk