Sisters Keena Simmons and Selina Burrows are hooked on books. So much so that they have turned a personal business venture into an opportunity to promote reading amongst Bermuda’s youngest.

Personally Yours, their company specialising in personalised items for any occasion, came up with the concept of personalised story books for children about a year ago.

One great way to get children reading is to give them a book with their name it, a book in which they are the main character and the story revolves around them.

So that is what they did - coming up with a line of books which P1 students at Victor Scott Primary and Paget Primary could not wait to get their hands on.

“Imagine the thrill youngsters experience when they see a book with their names in print. They’re not only proud of the book and the story in which they star, but they experience a sense of accomplishment at being able to eventually read their own book.”

Ms Simmons says reading is so much more exciting when the story is about you and because of this she and her sister implemented the Personally Yours Give-A-Book Programme in Bermuda which started in August this year to help promote literacy among young children.

Picking schools at random, the sisters provided the first of these personalised books and school supplies earlier this month — free of charge to P1 pupils at Victor Scott and Paget Primary.

Ms Simmons says there are about 60 different stories on offer and all are educational in nature, which means children are taught about shapes, colours, numbers, alphabets and more.

“We also provided books on crime prevention and fire safety,” she said, adding that there are also fun books with Christmas themes and spiritual books.

Not only do the books feature the receiving child as their main character, but also the names of up to three of their friends.

The women are encouraging companies in Bermuda to get involved in promoting literacy amongst the Island’s children and are hoping to distribute even more books in the future with the help of sponsorship.

“Studies have shown that good reading practices develop at an early age, so it is imperative to introduce books as soon as possible to young readers. If the books capture and hold their attention, they will spend more time reading them,” Ms Simmons says.

She believes the more they practise, the more skilled in comprehension and vocabulary use they will become.

“We would like to see as many of Bermuda’s school children reading these books as possible in the near future.”

But the sisters do not just work on large orders.

In time for Christmas, the sisters are also taking individual orders from anyone looking looking for the ultimate Christmas present for a child.

To receive a brochure, or place an order, Ms Simmons or Ms Burrows can be contacted at 799-9125