Bedtime stories to rival CBeebies at Johnstone Library

The BBC’s Bedtime Stories series has been a global smash, with their CBeebies channel attracting Hollywood royalty like Tom Hardy and real royals like the Princess of Wales to read tales for toddlers.  Marvel star Chris Evans took off his spandex to read the story ‘Even Superheroes Have Bad Days’ to tiny fans. Now, youngsters in Johnstone are enjoying their very own bedtime stories, with evening Bookbug sessions in the local library before being put down to sleep.

Renfrewshire Libraries’ Bookbug sessions are hugely popular, with parents and carers bringing their young children to hear stories and get involved with plenty of singing, dancing and the occasional nursery rhyme that we all remember from our childhood. The sessions are often booked out and filled with joy and laughter. While CBeebies has its star-studded line-up, Johnstone Library is host to evening Bookbug sessions which undoubtedly help the wee ones before bedtime. The evening sessions have another purpose, in helping dads and mums, and even grandparents, who may have to work during the day and can’t make earlier opportunities to enjoy a good Bookbug read-and-sing-along.

Tony Paterson, took his daughters, Ailis, 4, and Iona, 2, to an evening event at Johnstone Library. He said: “I've always enjoyed going to Bookbug with my girls as I have loved seeing them interact with what's going on. The songs, puppets, stories etc have always caught their attention and I have always seen it as great for their development to sing and sign in front of others but also to learn to listen to what is going on when someone is taking a class.”

Jane Struthers, OneRen’s Library Team Supervisor at Johnstone Library, said: “Sharing stories, no matter what age, even if it is only for a few minutes, helps the development of both babies and children with their language skills. It builds relationships, social skills and builds bonds.

“We decided to have two evening sessions in the month and I think it’s a lovely idea for dads to get involved if they are maybe working when we have our sessions during the day. But it also gives mums a chance to come along if they have maybe had to go back to work themselves so that they can also still keep their bond with their child during this half hour session. Grandparents are welcome along too and maybe older children who are in school during our sessions can come along in an evening to take part with their younger siblings.”

Jane and all of the library team love delivering the Bookbug sessions. She added: “I love seeing the smiles and giggles that they develop along the way and watch as they develop. It’s fantastic.”

As for tiring his girls out, Tony added: “The evening sessions are a nice thing to do before bedtime. It helps wind down a wee bit but with the long bright summer nights, convincing them on way home it's bedtime is still a battle.”

Evening Bookbug sessions are available at Johnstone Library on the first and second Tuesday of each month. For more details of Bookbug sessions search for Renfrewshire Libraries or click here.