Today I remembered about the Bookstart program and trotted off to the library to claim the latest pack (sadly we missed getting the other two as we were out of the country). By sheer chance I had the Child's red book with me so getting it was hassle free. The librarian tried to talk to me but we had to give up under the sheer weight of noise the ecstatic Child was producing when she realised the big cardboard box was for her.

Inside was two free children's books, some booklets to help parents encourage their child to read, some book plates, a colouring book, some colour pencils and a pencil sharpener. Not bad for free! There was also a £1 children's booktoken so we went to W H Smiths and then Waterstones to find a good one. It took ages as the price of highstreet bookshop books is always more than I want to pay, so I had to find something that I felt was worth the cover price. I bought a book about the human body that seemed to be pitched at the right level for the Child, and even though she was tired and hungry she was happy to sit next to me until I had read it all which is always a good sign.

I was pretty unimpressed with the selection in Waterstones for children, lots of TV tie in books, lots of sentimental slush (I am not a fan of 'Guess how much I love you' and similar slop), hardly anything I could see buying for the Child, especially not at Waterstone's prices.