Canterbury Imagine in Bradford

30/07/2026

Small books can open big windows to the world 🌃

26/07/2026

Here's your reminder to read aloud with your child for at least 15 minutes today! (📸: Bree D.)

25/07/2026

📣Calling all libraries!

We’re carrying out new research with Libraries Rising, exploring the difference public libraries make to the lives of families with children aged 0–5.

👉 Could you help us reach parents and carers to take part in our survey?

We are looking to speak to parents and carers of children aged 0–5 from a range of backgrounds and locations across England and Wales.

Interviews will take place online or by phone, will last approximately 45 minutes, and participants will receive a voucher for taking part.

Through these insights, we aim to better understand how families use their local library, what difference it makes to them, and how libraries support early years development and school readiness.

Please share to spread the word!✨

https://bit.ly/4ym8aqZ

23/07/2026

Talking books at Holme Wood family fun day- come and see me at the community library.

21/07/2026

What book did you read aloud today?
As Meaghan Cox Gurdon says in her book, “listening to stories while looking at pictures stimulates children’s deep brain networks, fostering their optimal cognitive development. Further, the companionable experience of shared reading cultivates empathy, dramatically accelerates young children’s language acquisition, and vaults them ahead of their peers when they get to school. The rewards of early reading are astonishingly meaningful: toddlers who have lots of stories read to them turn into children who are more likely to enjoy strong relationships, sharper focus, and greater emotional resilience and self-mastery."

04/07/2026

30/06/2026

Have you ever been a little anxious about going to a party? Featuring everyone's favourite Grumpy Monkey, this hilarious book by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang shows little ones that it's okay to go against the flow sometimes, and that speaking up about what you need might help others speak up, too.

23/06/2026

You can see it when it happens — a child leaning in closer, lost in the page.
Across all countries studied, children enrolled in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library were far more likely to engage deeply during shared reading.
That spark of imagination exists because books reach homes month after month.
Help keep those moments happening, page after page. https://imaginationlibrary.com/international-research/

20/06/2026

Attending nursery or starting school reception is an important milestone for families.

It can feel daunting, with questions arising like - is my child ready, will they be OK?

Around this time, many parents and carers may welcome a little extra support with their child’s development, for example around speech and language, routines, and social development.

Incredible Years is a nurturing and informative programme for parents and carers to attend, to help with their 3 or 4 year old child's development.

New dates for this FREE course are available, starting in September, at 7 locations around the district:

🧡 Farnham Primary School, Stratford Road, BD7 3HU - Monday 21st September to Monday 25th January 2027, 9.30am to 11.30am

🧡 Knowleswood Primary School, Knowles Lane, BD4 9AE - Monday 21st September to Monday 25th January 2027, 12.30pm to 2.30pm

🧡 Brathay Trust, Cathedral Halls, Stott Hill, BD1 4EH - Tuesday 22nd September to Tuesday 26th January 2027, 9.30am to 11.30am

🧡 Barkerend Family Hub, Bradford BD3 8QX - Tuesday 22nd September to Tuesday 26th January 2027, 12.30pm to 2.30pm

🧡 CommunityWorks Centre, Undercliffe Street, BD3 0DW - Wednesday 23rd September to Wednesday 27th January 2027, 9.30am to 11.30am

🧡 Rainbow Family Hub, Braithwaite Grove, Keighley, BD22 6JB - Thursday 24th September to Thursday 28th January 2027, 9.30am to 11.30am

🧡 St Edmund’s Nursery School, Bradford BD8 9QW - Thursday 24th September to Thursday 28th January 2027, 12.30pm to 2.30pm.

Full information is on the FYI website: Visit the Parenting Programmes Pathway - A - Z of parenting programmes and scroll to Incredible Years.

Knowleswood Primary School
Brathay Trust
Bradford East Family Hub
Keighley and Shipley Family Hub
Bradford South Family Hub
Bradford West Family Hub
Communityworks Bradford
St Edmund's Nursery School and Children's Centre
Barnardo's