10 September 2014
Jersey Library will give away 50 free copies of children’s bestseller ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ this Saturday 13 September as part of a campaign to get more young people reading.
Jersey Library is one of 200 libraries across the UK that will be supporting the ‘Just Read’ campaign by ITV’s Good Morning Britain. The aim is to encourage parents and carers to spend ten minutes reading with their children every day. The scheme is also backed by national charity The Reading Agency and children’s publisher Puffin.
Jersey’s Chief Librarian Ed Jewell said “The giveaway will highlight how vital libraries are for the nation’s literacy. Books like ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ can really help children on their reading journey. Millions of children are readers because of the entertaining and funny Wimpy Kid series. Jeff Kinney’s work is perfect for turning reluctant readers on to books. If children are not lucky enough to get one of the free books on Saturday there are plenty of others in the Library for them to choose from."
The books are 50% words and 50% cartoons and ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck’, was voted favourite book by children in the 2014 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.
As well as the giveaway this Saturday, which is first-come-first served from 10am, children who visit the mobile library from 5pm on Tuesday 16 September will be able claim a free, limited-edition extract of the yet-to-be published ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul’, which is due out on 5 November 2014.
Mr Jewell added “This exciting campaign follows a wonderful summer of reading at Jersey Library as over 2,200 children took part in the Summer Reading Challenge. This unique partnership between The Reading Agency and public libraries across the UK, saw Jersey Library work with schools, parents, children’s authors and storytellers, to encourage children aged 4-11 to join the library and read for pleasure during the summer holidays. As The Reading Agency says, everything changes when we read.”
gov.je