* EVERY baby is to be given a free book by 2000 after Sainsbury’s pledged Pounds 6 million to fund a national Bookstart programme.
The scheme, to be launched in January, will give away more than a million books over two years. Every baby will receive a book at the nine-month health check.
Bookstart was devised by the educational charity Book Trust after research showed that children introduced to books as babies had a clear advantage.
