BBC's 'Blue Peter' launches new 'Book' badge
Friday 8th September 2023
Celebrating International Literacy Day on 8 September 2023, Blue Peter unveiled a new Book badge, designed by one of the UK’s best-loved illustrators, Sir Quentin Blake.
The Blue Peter Book badge will be awarded to children aged 5-15 who send in their thoughts on a book, draw a character or scene and share which other books and writers they love. The Blue Peter Book Club has come up with a selection of six 'recommended reads' to inspire young readers.
Getting kids excited about great books has always been important for Blue Peter and so, as well as launching the new badge, they have teamed up with The Reading Agency and BBC Arts to bring viewers a monthly Book Club jam-packed with fantastic stories. Each month, presenters will showcase a new book and be joined by young readers to talk about the incredible stories, new worlds and fascinating characters they discover.
"Reading can take you to amazing places," says Quentin, himself a former Children's Laureate, whose role is to champion reading and literacy for young people. The Book badge joins the other eight types of Blue Peter badge – Blue, Silver, Green, Sport, Purple, Orange, Gold, and Music. For more information about all the Blue Peter badges and how to collect them visit bbc.co.uk/bluepeter
"Reading can take you to amazing places," says Quentin, himself a former Children's Laureate, whose role is to champion reading and literacy for young people. The Book badge joins the other eight types of Blue Peter badge – Blue, Silver, Green, Sport, Purple, Orange, Gold, and Music. For more information about all the Blue Peter badges and how to collect them visit bbc.co.uk/bluepeter
Working with BBC Bitesize, BBC Arts, CBBC HQ and The Reading Agency, Blue Peter aims to introduce young readers to new writing and encourage a love of reading. BBC Arts will support the Blue Peter Book Club by bringing the books to life through animation, BBC Bitesize Primary will support the Blue Peter Book Club by creating companion guides to the books for Key Stage 2 children aged 7-9, whilst CBBC HQ will showcase writing, drawings and comments sent in by children from all over the UK.
Stephen James-Yeoman, Commissioning Executive from BBC Arts says: "Introducing children to books and reading for pleasure at an early age can help establish a life-long love of great writing. ... A huge thanks to Sir Quentin Blake for designing a fantastic new badge."
Original artwork for the Blue Peter Book badge joins other work in Quentin's archive which will eventually be on show at the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, opening in Clerkenwell in 2025. Fans of Quentin's work can also look forward to a unique collection of six animated stories from his much-loved books, in Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures premiering on CBBC and BBC iPlayer from December.
