Peterborough shopping centre donates books to support families in pandemic

Serpentine Green has gifted bundles of popular books and engaging activity booklets to local foodbanks through the Community Champions at Tesco as well as local schools to support families in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

Three hundred children’s books have been shared with local families, including Gargantis by Thomas Taylor and Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, along with free activity booklets filled with fun and educational worksheets based on familiar fictional characters such as Alex Rider, Judy Moody and Maisy Mouse.

Ejaz Moghul, a Tesco Community Champion said: “It’s been great to watch so many of our local families get excited about the activity booklets and choosing brand new books to take home. This has really meant a lot to us and we know just how much of a difference they will make to children in our local area.”

This new initiative is led by Serpentine Green’s owner, British Land, and the National Literacy Trust. It follows a long-running partnership to help encourage children to enjoy reading outside of the classroom and to provide them with the resources to do so.

Jane Searle, centre administrator at Serpentine Green, added: “Encouraging children to love to read and giving them access to their own books is so important, especially at this particularly difficult time.

“We’re really pleased to be able to continue to work with the National Literacy Trust to support local families.”

As part of British Land’s partnership with the National Literacy Trust, families in Peterborough also have free access to virtual storytelling sessions which support children’s listening and creative skills and help to spark a love of stories.

The ‘Young Readers Story Club’ videos feature professional storytellers sharing different stories each week, including award-winning children’s poet Dominic Berry and the storyteller Amanda Edmiston.

Local schools have be given exclusive ‘first look’ access to the videos before they are made available for local families to view on the National Literacy Trust’s Family Zone website.

Jonathan Douglas, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust, said: “Books have the power to enrich children’s lives – they fuel imaginations, help children learn new things and support mental wellbeing. Yet hundreds of thousands of children across the UK are missing out on these benefits at a time when they need them most, simply because they don’t have a book of their own.

“By bringing the magical world of stories into children’s homes through brand new books, activity booklets and incredible storytelling videos, this initiative will provide much needed inspiration and comfort during a time of uncertainty.”