Young readers celebrate at Bookstart Bear Club party

A party was held at St Budeaux Library on Saturday to celebrate the achievements of little ones who have gained their gold Bookstart Bear Club certificate.

The Bookstart Bear Club encourages under-fives to read and take part in library events with their parents or carers. Plymouth's club is only in its second year but already has around 1,500 members, ranging in age from just a couple of months to four years.

Every time the young readers visit the library to borrow a book or join in with a Rhymetime or Storytime session they receive a pawprint stamp in their club passport. For every six stamps they are awarded a certificate and the tenth is gold – so these youngsters have visited their library 60 times.

The party marked the end of National Bookstart Week so children wore fancy dress based on this year's theme –'fairy tales'. They were each presented with a prize to celebrate their achievement.