In a bid to encourage reading, Hitchin Library have teamed up with Nub News for a 'Countdown to Christmas' list with a daily recommendation of a festive book favourite.

Library boss Rebekah Nicolas will offer a daily book choice for the festive season.

Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read.

Learning to read is also about listening and understanding, as well as working out what's printed on the page.

So, read on for Hitchin Library's festive favourite for today, Tuesday, December 15.

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A Countdown to Christmas in Festive Book Favourites

It just wouldn't be right to do a countdown in picture books without featuring one of Julia Donaldson's superb stories and of course for this festive celebration, it must be Stick Man.

For those unfamiliar with this tale and the excellent TV animation, Stick Man has set out from the Family Tree, 'his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three' for a morning jog when he is picked up by a Dog for a game of fetch.

Despite his repeated refrain of 'I'm Stick Man, I'm Stick Man', he is put to many uses; a pooh-stick, a twig for a swan's nest, an arm on a snowman and more, before he is laid in the grate ready for a fire.

Someone very special gets stuck in the chimney on a very special evening before helping Stick Man home to the family tree.

A witty, heart-warming story delightfully communicated by Donaldson's quintessential rhyming and Scheffler's genius illustrations.

Book featured: Stick Man by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Scholastic Books)

This book can be reserved for free from Hertfordshire Libraries here.