Gifting programme aims to donate one million books

The Children's Book Project, which gives away donated books to schools, prisons and community settings, is aiming to give away one million books to children who have few books of their own during this academic year, 2025-2026, in response to "a deepening literacy crisis", the charity said.

The National Literacy Trust estimates that nearly one million children don't have books at home. With its One Million Stories campaign, The Book Project aims to gift new and pre-loved books to children in London, Birmingham and Leeds to support children in language and literacy development.

"Working in partnership with schools, prisons and food banks, we'll target areas of need, giving each setting the resources to put on a mini book festival where children and families can choose free books of their own to take home and keep," the charity explained. ⁠Children are gifted six books across three terms, and schools are encouraged to hold book gifting events for those receiving the books.

Pre-loved books can be donated via Asda stores nationwide, and the charity also encourages book drives for book donations.

The Children's Book Project works mainly with primary schools; visit its website to find out how to sign up to its book gifting programme.