CREDITON’S award-winning independent, community owned bookshop is about to launch its 2025 Top Titles Collection for four to12 year-olds with a fortnight of school visits celebrating World Book Day.

The Bookery’s Schools Team of experienced teachers, librarians and teacher trainers will be visiting 17 local Primary schools across two weeks to showcase its collection.

There will be a session at The Bookery for home educated children on Monday, March 3 and, for the first time this year, the team is running an online session for island and rural schools. They will beam into schools in the Isles of Scilly, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and a rural school in Mid Devon with, again, a focus on the Bookery’s Top Titles.

The varied collection of 24 recently published titles includes picture books for the very young; shorter chapter books for developing readers; longer books for older readers; dyslexia friendly books for eight to 12 year-old readers who lack confidence as readers as well as two graphic novels and three non-fiction titles.

Members of the team will talk about the books, read extracts, allow time for questions and discussion and give children to a chance to choose and buy books at a good discount.

The Bookery is very aware that many families simply cannot afford money for books so each school visited will have bought a collection for the school library. That way every child has a chance to choose and read a book.

The timing of the visits coincides with the national focus on celebrating reading for pleasure which culminates on Thursday, March 6, in World Book Day.

The Trust’s 2024 survey of 76,000 UK children found that two out of three children do not enjoy reading: The Bookery schools team say they are working hard to combat this!