Thirty thousand books to be given away to schools who sign up to the Premier League Primary Stars programme.
The Premier League will be giving away two thousand book boxes to primary school teachers who sign up to the new literacy offer available on the Premier League Primary Stars website. The book boxes, which contain 15 different titles from authors such as Julia Donaldson, Jacqueline Wilson and Dan Freedman, have been created in partnership with the National Literacy Trust.
Premier League Primary Stars is a new programme which has seen the Premier League work with education specialists to create and develop free, curriculum-linked Key Stage 1 and 2 resources, which can be used for lessons or to supplement existing in-class delivery of PE, PSHE, literacy and numeracy. The programme aims to develop skills and ambition both on and off the sports field with resources for girls and boys aged 5-11 years old.
The opening of the free online literacy offer, which includes packs, resources, and lesson plans for teachers, has been timed to go live on a day in which school children across the world will be celebrating characters from their favourite stories for World Book Day. Teachers who have not already signed up to the site can register now at www.plprimarystars.com.
The Premier League have worked with the National Literacy Trust to develop the literacy element of the programme, with the two having worked closely on the Premier League Reading Stars over the past fifteen years. Richard Scudamore, the Executive Chairman at the Premier League has also signed the Vision for Literacy Business Pledge which sees businesses commit to helping improve literacy levels.
Cressida Cowell, author of How to Train your Dragon, whose title ‘How to Fight a Dragon's Fury’ features in each of the Book Boxes, said of the initiative: “Literacy and reading is imperative for young children and their development both socially and psychologically.
"I am a National Literacy Trust ambassador and I have been working very closely with the Premier League on the development of the literacy element of the Primary Stars programme, so it makes me extremely proud to be a part of an initiative that will be giving away 30,000 free books to young people.”
Frank Lampard, former Premier League footballer and author of Frankie’s Magic Football series added: “This is a great way of engaging young people in reading. The book boxes give schools an array of titles for their lessons, so there’s something in there that everyone in the class can enjoy.
“My inspiration for the Frankie’s Magic Football series came from my daughters, who wanted to read more stories about football. I hope that the inclusion of ‘Olympic Flame Chase’ in the Primary Stars book box will encourage other young people to pick up a book that might pique their interest and help them to enjoy reading.”
Each of the two thousand book boxes being given away will contain the following titles:
Danger Is Everywhere: A Handbook for Avoiding Danger by David O'Doherty
Football Academy: Reading the Game by Tom Palmer
Middle School: I Funny by James Patterson
The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones by Will Mabbit
Foul Play by Tom Palmer
Brooksie by Neil Arksey
Friendly Matches by Allan Ahlberg
Young Bond: SilverFin by Charlie Higson
Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid book 11) by Jeff Kinney
The Worry Website by Jacqueline Wilson
The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop by Clare Balding
Skills from Brazil by Dan Freedman
Stick man by Julia Donaldson
Olympic Flame Chase: Book 16 (Frankie's Magic Football) by Frank Lampard
How to Fight a Dragon's Fury: Book 12 (How To Train Your Dragon) by Cressida Cowell