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Actress and writer Emma Thompson has today (29th September) opened a new Peter Rabbit children’s section at Gorton Library in Manchester.
The Peter Rabbit space was created by Booktrust and publisher Frederick Warne, the original publisher of the Beatrix Potter books, now part of Penguin. Frederick Warne is also donating more than £1,000 worth of children’s books to the library.
“For those of us lucky enough to have been read to as children, to have had access to books and libraries and to have had a love of reading engrained in us, we each have a spectacular tale we can refer to which inspired a lifelong love of books,” said Thompson. “Every child should have a spectacular tale in their life that can start them on their reading journey and get them off to a flying start in life.”
Viv Bird, c.e.o. of Booktrust, said the area will encourage more children to read. “Manchester has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country and the new Peter Rabbit library provides a wonderful opportunity to get more children and families interested in reading, which is priceless.”
She added: “We know that children who are read to every day will be almost 12 months ahead of their age group when they start school. Even reading to them two or three times a week gives them a six-month head-start.”
Beatrix Potter’s original Peter Rabbit story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was published in 1902.
Thompson is the author of The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit, published in 2012, The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit (2013), and the upcoming The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit, which will be released on 2nd October.