A right royal read!

Pupils from year two at Hudson Road Primary and year one at St John Boste Primary and Burnside Primary schools took part in the Big Regional Read today (26 May), which saw pupils from across the North East and Tees Valley enjoy a reading of The Queen's Handbag by Steve Anthony.

The event, organised to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, saw schools from local authorities across the region enjoy the story.

In Sunderland, the Big Regional Read was held at City Library, Washington Town Centre Library and Houghton Library with a craft session and treasure hunt provided by Sunderland Libraries Services.  

Copies of the Queen's Handbag were provided through funding from Libraries Connected, which supports public libraries.

Councillor Linda Williams, Cabinet Member for Vibrant City at Sunderland City Council, said: "We are all looking forward to celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this summer, and it is fantastic to see some of Sunderland's primary school children enjoy this special event where they can have fun while reading and enjoying books in the city's libraries."

Sunderland Libraries Services will also be holding a 'Right Royal Crafts' event at City and Washington Town Centre Libraries between 2.30 - 3.30 pm on Tuesday 31 May and at Houghton Library between 2.30pm - 3.30 pm on Wednesday 1 June. Everyone welcome.

Throughout next week, the Local History Library @ ETR will be hosting special screenings of a new film produced and curated by the Yorkshire and North East Film Archives to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's 70 years of reign.

Find out more about some of the events planned for the Jubilee at: The Queen's Platinum Jubilee 2022 - MySunderland (seeitdoitsunderland.co.uk)