An Irish charity has been working with emergency accommodation and direct provision centres across the country to give children without a home, the gift of a book.
The 'Gift A Book' programme was established in 2020, when it became clear that because of the Covid-19 pandemic, many children had lost their access to reading.
"They'd no access to stories, no way of escaping," said Elaina Ryan, chief executive of Children's Books Ireland (CBI).
"So, we started working with partner charities up and down the island of Ireland to try to get books to the children who need them most at Christmas time."
At least 600 more children will celebrate Christmas in homeless accommodation this year compared to 2024.
The children living in a Focus Ireland-run centre in Finglas received an early Santa-visit, due to the Gift a Book programme, run by CBI.
Around 50 children live in the complex between short term accommodation and families in long term residences with social supports.
Sinéad O'Reilly, team leader with Focus Ireland, said that child support workers and key workers in the centre are dedicated to making the kids' lives better, although many have additional needs.
"It could be simple as learning how to share with other children," she said.
"A lot of children would struggle with that - the fear that they're not going to be able to hold on to something that belongs to them.
"They don't have a home; they don't have something to hold on to."
Emma McCracken, child support worker with Focus Ireland says she uses books to support the children as it helps them discuss difficult topics
"Books can be a form of escapism for the kids from the reality of their day-to-day lives, and as well as that, it can give the kids some joy," she said.
"But we'd also be using books, maybe like 'The Huge Bag of Worries', which shows children what to do if they are worried."
Nicole, who lives in short-term emergency accommodation with her three sons in the centre in Finglas, said it was great that her children were so excited to receive their books.
"My kids actually won't go to sleep without me reading them a bedtime story," she said.
"Their daddy isn't present at the moment and we're doing books about that. Child-friendly books like that, which I think will really help [them]."
Importance of reading
Reading from an early age is a key indicator of educational success.
A 2022 study from the ESRI found that there are clear differences in children’s reading abilities based on their socio-economic background.
Ms Ryan was keen to stress that it is important to allow children to read for pleasure.
"We selected books that we feel will be uplifting, informative, exciting, a book that a child can read more than once," Ms Ryan added.
"Your own academic self-confidence is higher when you're a reader for pleasure.
"The ability to step into another person's shoes, whose life, whose experiences may be very different to your own, is positively impacted more by reading a story than by reading non-fiction."
More than 5,200 children will be waiting for Santa Claus this Christmas Eve from an emergency accommodation hub.
This figure does not include children in IPAS accommodation centres or other types of temporary living arrangements.
"What we want to do for Christmas is put a smile on their faces," Ms Ryan said.
"The impact of somebody taking a moment to give a gift to them that's just for them, that doesn't have to be shared with a sibling, that doesn't have to be returned to a library.
"That's a little chink of light in their day.
"It's an access to the arts that they wouldn't ordinarily have. "
CBI gave away more than 42,000 books to children last year across all its campaigns.
