An initiative in Leek has had a 'novel' idea on how to get kids to read more - by hiding books for them to find all around the town.

Look for a Book is a Leek group that aims to make books exciting for kids again to decrease screen time and increase reading time.

Local resident Caroline Thornton is one of those running the group.

We spoke to Caroline all about the group, how it works, and how people can get involved!

Read our interview below...

Hi Caroline, thanks for talking to us about the Look for a Book group! How did the idea to start the group first come about?

"The whole Leek Look for a Book initiative is run by myself and my friend Deb. Deb contacted me at the beginning of 2019, saying that she'd seen, on Facebook, a Look for a Book scheme running elsewhere in the country and asked if I would like to try setting up something in Leek.

"Deb is a Speech, Language and Communication Specialist Teacher. I am a childminder, working with early years children (0-5yrs), and we are both parents. So reading plays a large part in both of our lives, both personally and professionally, as well as being avid readers ourselves.

"We both thought that it was a fabulous initiative, which encourages less screen time and more sharing, nurture and talking time, helping to develop speech, language and communication skills in children."

For anyone who might not know, could you tell us what the group is all about and what it involves?

"The whole idea of the initiative is that Deb and I, along with anyone else who would like to join in, hide children's books around Leek and the local area for children to find, read, share, enjoy and then re-hide for others to find and enjoy.

"We started with a Facebook page, explaining what the project is all about and invited everyone local that we knew. We put together a leaflet to go in with the books, which are hidden in resealable plastic bags to keep them safe from the elements, which was published on the Facebook page, inviting members to print it off if they wanted to hide their own books. We also welcome donations of books from people who do not have the time or inclination to hide the books themselves."

How is the group going so far - do you have many members or people taking part?

"Deb and I each had a small stack of books to hide, which we did within the first couple of weeks of the Facebook page going live.

"Within the first month, we had nearly 600 members. Within 3 months, that grew to over 1,000! The local community were out hiding their own books, as well as donating books for Deb and I to hide. The Facebook page was busy with posts of children finding, enjoying and hiding books all over the place. People even started to take books on holiday and hide them all around the UK - we've had Leek Look for a Book books found as far afield as Cornwall and Scotland!

"We also had support from local people and businesses offering to print leaflets, which were then given to local Children's Centres and shops, for people to pick up and use if they could not print their own at home.

"When Covid-19 struck, we took the decision to pause the hiding of books, in order to stop the spread of the virus and, in all honesty, I think we both thought that was possibly the end of it. However, since restrictions have eased, we have started up again and the support for the initiative has only grown.

"We have received donations from all over the country. Last year, I collected a donation of over 1,000 books from Leek First School. Because of the sheer volume, I asked the Look for a Book community if they could help out with leaflets and plastic bags, as the cost was becoming prohibitive to both myself and Deb. The kindness was overwhelming - people printed off and donated over 2,000 leaflets, bought bags for us to use in every size available and enabled us to hide all of these books, even gave money to help towards the cost of printing and buying bags.

"We then received a donation from a lady who used to be a teacher, headmistress, then private tutor, of over 500 books. 

"This year we have received a donation from another kind person, who wished to remain anonymous, of over 500 books.

"These donations are all alongside the regular donations we receive each month from our members, whose children have grown out of books or are having a clear out.

"As I'm sure you can tell, I'm constantly blown away by the generosity and support we have received from our local community and further afield."

What sort of places do you hide the books and how can people get involved? How do you make sure the books don't get rained on damaged while they are hidden?

"There have been a couple of sticking points along the way.

"Deb and I have never been entirely comfortable with the use of plastic bags. However, we could not find another solution to this that would still keep the books protected from the elements. We do, however, encourage all members to reuse the plastic bags for as long as possible and then advise where they can be recycled when worn out - this information is on the leaflets.

"A couple of months ago, a ranger that works around Leek found two of our bags in a hedge in Ladderedge Country Park, where someone had removed the books but left the bags. This obviously raised environmental concerns regarding wildlife and he asked us not to hide books around Ladderedge Country Park or Brough Park fields any longer. Obviously, Deb and I have supported his request, although the wider Look for a Book community were not best pleased, on the whole; this post sparked a huge debate about what was being done about all the other litter and dog poo bags that are routinely left around these sites. Only two of our bags had been found over the whole 3 years of the initiative running, so I think our members felt this was making a statement using an easy target, as opposed to dealing with the general littering issue (someone asked if McDonalds have been asked not to sell food to people visiting Leek, as their rubbish is repeatedly found in these areas).

"However, apart from these issues, the project is still going strong and is still hugely supported. I am still taking donations and hiding books everywhere I go. I have been described as a 'book fairy' and the 'Hansel and Gretel of books' on more than one occasion! 

"We hide books everywhere - on park benches, outside shops, in trees, under rocks, in parks, in towns and villages; anywhere a book can be placed, we might hide one.

"We did decide at the very start to only hide children's books, as we were concerned about children finding books with inappropriate content if the project extended to include adult literature. 

"Anyone and everyone can get involved, as I'm sure you can tell from the information above."

Why is it so important that kids practise their reading skills?

"With regard to the benefits of children reading, they are immeasurable. Reading can benefit education, social and cognitive development. It helps wellbeing and mental health. It improves literacy skills and understanding of the world. It facilitates social interaction and can help children to develop empathy and understanding. Reading with a child can help build stronger relationship bonds and improve vocabulary. It encourages greater concentration skills and builds higher levels of creativity and imagination. I could go on but I think you probably get the gist. The benefits are numerous and far reaching."

What would you say to encourage people to join and is there anything else you'd like to add?

"One last note - close to the beginning of the project, we received a post on our site from someone across the country claiming to have started this project elsewhere and that this was 'their idea'. I'm still unsure if they were annoyed that they thought we had 'stolen' their idea or were just wanting further recognition than they had in their local area. Either way, they were not from the area that Deb had first spotted this being done. We replied, advising we had never taken credit for the idea, only seen it elsewhere and wanted to continue it here. The claims of 'My Idea!' continued, so I told them about an incident my father relayed to me, many years ago. He was walking in the Cuillin Mountains on the Isle of Skye in 1971. He sat down to have some lunch and found beside him a parcel of waxed paper. Within the paper was a book of poetry (he forgets the author now) and a little business card-sized note, asking the person who found this book to enjoy it and re-hide it elsewhere for another traveller to enjoy. Needless to say, we did not hear from this gentleman again on whose idea this project had been.

"We have, however, had many messages from people who have found our books in various locations around the UK and have visited Leek and come across the project. They have messaged us asking if we would mind them pinching our idea for their local area. We are always at pains to let them know that, whilst it was not our idea originally, we are more than happy to help them get set up. They can use our leaflet and change the name/area/whatever information they like to suit their local area and we have advised on how we got up and running. I know of at least three other areas around the UK that have started and are still running very successful Look for a Book initiatives, which is just fabulous. Ultimately, our aim is to promote reading and language skills in children, along with getting people out and about enjoying their local area and off screens for a while."

If you would like to join or find out more, you can find the Look for a Book group on Facebook here.