Children & Families

Idea Store and Children

In Idea Stores the focus is on individual children and their families. We provide a service for children from babyhood up to sixteen. Our emphasis is very much on families. Children who visit public libraries regularly are above average readers – but they tend to visit only if their family does too. For older children we provide an out of class service: after school, at weekends and during the school holidays.

View the 'Idea Store and Children' document as a PDF

The Children's Activites Programme
Idea Store provides an enjoyable and enriching experience for children and parents with daily and weekly activities for children and their parents and families.

Take Part in a Reading Challenge

Summer Reading Challenge
Every year, in partnership with The Reading Agency, we run the Summer Reading Challenge for children aged 4 - 11 years. Children are challenged to read six books over the summer holidays and to participate in a range of exciting themed activities.

Winter Reading Challenge
We also run a smaller Winter Reading Challenge, which starts at the end of the autumn term and runs into the holidays.

Visit the Tower for £1

If you are a resident of Tower Hamlets you can visit the Tower of London for just £1. To take advantage of this special offer all you need to do is take along your Idea Store or Tower Hamlets Library card along with your proof of name and address e.g. a utility bill or bank statement. Then you can explore all the delights the Tower of London has to offer for just one pound.

eReading Room: Digital Collection for Kids and Teens

Visit the user-friendly Kids eReading Room and Teens eReading Room for eBooks and audiobooks suitable for children and teenagers. You can browse by subject and reading level. Choose from Fiction, Non Fiction, Classics, Comic & Graphic Books, Historical Fiction, Humour, Mystery, Mythology & Folklore, Picture Books, Science & Nature and Science Fiction & Fantasy.

Parenting Online Magazines

View full digital copies of your favourite parenting magazines free with Idea Store and RBdigital!
Available at any time, read online or download issues to your computer or mobile device.

Music for Children and Babies

Discover hundreds of genres of music with thousands of artists, tens of thousands of albums and 7 million songs, including music for young children with Idea Store Freegal.

Reading Hack Ambassadors

If you live or go to school in Tower Hamlets and are aged 14 - 17 years old, why not volunteer as a Reading Hack Ambassador?

Idea Store is looking for volunteers to commit to being a Reading Hack Ambassador for a minimum of 6 months and sign up to help us spread the word about Idea Stores. It starts with the Summer Reading Challenge in July, rolling through to Write Idea in November and then taking up other events along the way. We also would like to know what ideas you may have and can contribute to our service. You can help us publicise our exciting range of events and also help us run the activities, gaining new skills and experience along the way

Tel: 0333 370 4700

Enrol: 0207 364 5665