This autumn every 11-year-old in England will be able to choose a free book from a list of specially selected titles. This is a national programme called Booked Up, supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. All Year 7 pupils have received a magazine with details of all the books, and the Library has a set of the books to help students make their choice by browsing through them and chatting about them to their friends. In addition we have been watching a short DVD where all the Booked Up authors talk about their book, which is then reviewed by a reader. I will be asking Year 7s to make their choice later this week so I can place the order.
Last year over 637,000 children received a free Booked Up book with 5,400 secondary schools taking part in the programme. If the timing is similar then we might expect the books to arrive in early December. There is more information at http://www.bookedup.org.uk.
