THE ‘Bookstart Bear Club’ aims to encourage young children in the Holsworthy area to visit their local library and read.

The free library scheme is especially aimed at children aged 0-5.

Membership packs are available in Holsworthy Library for parents to pick up and fill out on behalf of a child who wants to take part.

Each time a child visits the library from then on they will receive a bear paw stamp in their Bookstart Bear Club Passport.

Once a child has collected six stamps they will be awarded a certificate. There are ten different certificates for children to collect — including the most prestigious ‘gold’ certificate for those dedicated children who visit the library ten times.

The Bookstart Bear Club helps to promote book sharing as an important activity for parents and their young children. It can also help encourage language development and pre-school literacy as children begin to engage more with texts.

There are no fines on overdue books for under-5s. All babies and toddlers joining the library will receive a special, illustrated library ticket.

For children aged six and up the library offers a ‘Book Track’ scheme. It is not a race or a test, it simply allows children to choose the books they like and, once they have read them, have a chat with their local librarian about them. A record will then be kept of the books a child has read — with a chance to collect badges and stickers along the way.

Children will be awarded a badge when they have read 10, 25, 50 and 75 books. Stickers are available for reading 40, 60 and 90 books.

Once the reading trail has been completed and 100 books have been read a child can collect their special certificate and gold star badge.

Ask any one of the librarians at Holsworthy Library about starting the Book Track or pop in to pick up a membership pack to join the Bookstart Bear Club.