Bookstart Packs

Inspire loves Bookstart! Bookstart is a national programme that encourages all parents and carers to enjoy books with their children from as early an age as possible.

Our Bookstart service is currently paused due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation . We are unable to make deliveries to libraries or to our partners in health and education. We look forward to restarting the service as soon as it is safe to do so.
You can find further details of service disruption here.
BookTrust have also created a Home Time Hub for families with activities and resources for children under 5.

Bookstart aims to give free packs of books to every baby in the UK, to inspire and create a love of reading that will give children a flying start in life. And most of all show that books are fun!

In Nottinghamshire, Inspire works together with health professionals and early years settings such as nurseries, pre-schools and children’s centres to make sure every child receives their book packs.

All children are eligible to receive the following two free book packs:

Bookstart Baby Pack

The Bookstart Baby Pack is for babies aged 0 to 12 months. Available from:

Local Health Centres
Our libraries

The pack contains:

Two board books − perfect to enjoy with your baby (titles vary).
Babies Love Books − a guide to sharing books, top tips and recommendations for more books to share.
Bookstart rhyme poster − great to put up on your wall or fridge to enjoy rhymes together at home every day.
Purple bag with a short handle and zip − practical and stylish for mums, dads and carers.

Bookstart Treasure Gift

The Bookstart Treasure Gift is for children aged 3 years is distributed through:

Early years settings such as nurseries, pre-schools and playgroups
Our libraries.

The Gift contains:

A picture book - wonderful to share with your pre-schooler (titles vary).
Share the Fun - full of top tips and guidance about sharing books and having fun together.
A special gift envelope that your three to four year old will love opening!

Bookstart also provides packs for children who need extra support to develop a love of books and reading. The packs contain advice and guidance for parents and carers to support their child’s additional needs.

Booktouch packs are for children between the ages of 0 to 5 years who are blind or partially sighted.
Bookshine packs are available for children between the ages of 0 – 5 years who are deaf or hearing impaired.
Bookstart Star pack is aimed at children aged three to five who have a condition or disability that impacts on or delays the development of their fine motor skills and includes books and resources to help families enjoy reading together every day.

Ask at your local library for more information or contact: