Activities for children and families in our libraries

We host Baby Boogie, Story time, and other play sessions for children under 5 years old in our libraries. We also host ad-hoc activities and events for older children and families. Some activities are held outside of staffed hours.

Baby Boogie

Baby Boogie is a free music and rhyme session for pre-school children and their parents or carers. 

These sessions start at 10:15am and are held at:

  • Jubilee Library on Wednesdays
  • Hove Library on Fridays

Baby Boogie runs during term time only.

You don't need to book, but we can only allow a set number of people in each session for safety reasons. We can hold sessions for up to 30 adults.  

Dad's Baby Boogie

Dad’s  Baby Boogie is a free music and rhyme session aimed at pre-school children and their dads. 

These sessions are held at Jubilee library on the third Saturday of every month during term time at 10:15am. 

Story time

Our story times are held at:

  • Jubilee Library on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 10:15am
  • Hove Library on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:15am
  • Coldean Library on Wednesdays at 10:15am
  • Moulescoomb Library on the last Wednesday of each month at 10:15am
  • Portslade Library on the first Wednesday of each month at 10:15am
  • Rottingdean Library on the second Monday of each month at 10:15am
  • Saltdean Library on the third Tuesday of each month at 10:15am

Story time is held during term time only.

Toy Library

We have a Toy Library available at Whitehawk Library and two smaller Toy Library collections at Coldean Library and Portslade Library. These toys are located in red bags and can be borrowed, for free, on both staffed and Libraries Extra days. Toy bags must be returned to the library they were originally borrowed from. 

Free book packs for children  

Every family in Brighton & Hove can get a free Bookstart Baby Pack for each child, before they're 12 months old, to encourage them to read.

A Bookstart Baby Pack includes two board books and a rhyme sheet. It also has a booklet of tips and ideas for sharing books with young children. 

You should receive your pack from your Health Visitor or  Children's Centre.

If you don't have it, or you’d like more information, you can send an email to bookstart@brighton-hove.gov.uk. 

You can visit the BookTrust website for more information about Bookstart packs, as well as other helpful resources for parents. 

Other activities and events for children

Our Library events page has details of all upcoming activities and events for children, including those for older children and families.