OH baby, they're going to throw the book at you!

And about time, too, reckon a great many parents fed up of tales of below-par literacy among children.

Statistics show that:

Six per cent of adults in Britain cannot read

One in eight of all over 16s have reading difficulties

One third of 14-year-olds have a reading age of 11 or less.

The word is spreading, and babies from seven months to 18 months are now preparing to effect an earlier grasp on the written word by joining early learning schemes. One such scheme, the Owl Club, has just spread its wings in Leigh, Tyldesley and Wigan.

Paul Jones, group marketing assistant with Wigan MBC, explained: "There is no specific literacy problem in Wigan but the problem nation-wide as been highlighted in recent months in library magazines and publications. A team of librarians (the children's team) picked up on this and also that reading and use of libraries are going down."

Wigan have been assiduous in seeking - and fortunate in securing - funding for the Owl Club. The project cost, though much of it would have been spent in a similar way in any event, was £48,000. Sainsbury's, the store people, came up with £5,000; the Coalfield Challenge Single Regeneration Budget granted £2,000, and Campbell Books donated books worth £17,500.

The launch of the Owls took place at Sainsbury's where members of local toddlers' clubs were invited to help kick-start the scheme.

Little Owls can join through seven selected libraries and the new members each receive a bag containing an advice leaflet for parents, a bookmark, bedroom poster, action rhymes leaflet and a reading card. And there is also a book start children off, a free copy of Campbell Books' "On The Farm", a photographic big board book.

The free scheme became fully operational on Monday.

Wigan's district library manager, Susan Underwood, said: "The enjoyment of books and stories in babyhood has been shown to be a vital factor in giving children a head start to better reading. Parents will enjoy sharing books with their children and seeing how much progress they make each week."

Henry Owl, the club mascot, and library staff will be touring local libraries, clinics, surgeries and creches to promote the scheme to parents.

Libraries designated as owlet centres are Wigan Children's, Leigh, Golborne, Ince, Marsh Green, Shevington and Tyldesley.

Paul said: "We are hoping to get membership up to about 5,000 babies in the first year. That is our target."

Better than being born with the proverbial silver spoon in the mouth, this is Wigan's gift to its babies; the priceless key to literacy.

And in Bolton the efforts, begun some time ago, to set up a similar scheme will continue; the difficulty is in finding commercial sponsorship.

A bid for cash has been put in to the Single Regeneration Budget 4, and the children's librarians will keep on trying until Bolton's babies get the same head start on life.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.