BIG W’s seventh Free Books for Kids initiative launched on 15 September.

The program invites parents and carers to pop into their nearest BIG W store to collect eight classic Disney movie title books, with a different book offered each week, with no purchase necessary and while stocks last.

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This year’s collection of stories includes the classics: Frozen, Moana, Cars, Toy Story, Encanto, The Lion King,
Beauty and The Beast and The Little Mermaid.

Brian Hall, Store Support Leader at BIG W Park Beach told News Of The Area, “The Free Books for Kids stand is located at the front of the store.

“All Coffs families have to do is walk into the store and collect the book of the week – the new book for this week is Cars, it was Frozen last week.”

For this series, BIG W has worked alongside the Australian Dyslexia Association (ADA) and The Walt Disney Company to ensure the series is presented in dyslexia friendly formats.

“It’s great to be a part of a program that supports the local community in this way, whilst also supporting those affected by dyslexia,” said Brian.

“We love seeing the joy that it brings to families, who can enjoy the art of reading together, whilst knowing that they can access these books for free.”

According to the ADA, dyslexia may affect up to one in ten Australians, with an estimated one in five children being undiagnosed.

However the ADA has found a lack of dyslexia friendly books readily available to purchase for children with dyslexia.

The ADA has worked alongside BIG W and The Walt Disney Company to ensure the series is presented in dyslexia friendly formats.

The books incorporate guidelines such as utilising fonts that make it easier to distinguish between similar letters and uncomplicated layouts with spacing, so the pages aren’t overcrowded.

The books are also printed on paper with a gentle tint that can help to reduce visual stress when reading.

At the end of this Free Books for Kids series, BIG W will have given away over 18.5 million books since the program first began in February 2019.

By Andrea FERRARI