Who are we?
Who are we?
Established in 2017, Pop-Up Bookshop sells award-winning children's books online, at local events, and to schools and nurseries.
Pop-Up Bookshop donates £1 from every book sold, 365 days per year, to our Great Big Read Community Book Fund.
Building a positive reading culture in our local community is at the heart of everything we do.
Find us at our regular trading spot at David Lloyd Clubs in Poole.
Great Big Read was founded in September 2019 with the aim to champion literacy locally and to inspire more children to enjoy reading.
Meet our team...
Teamwork makes the dream work... we are lucky enough to work with very talented, dedicated and passionate people to help deliver our Great Big Read initiative.
If working with us takes your fancy then please get in touch.
Our Story
- The Great Big Read flame was sparked through a chat with a retired headteacher friend back in September 2019... huge thanks to Ali Smith for her invaluable input, support and advice.
- Our reading challenge initiative was founded as way to for us to work smarter yet have a greater impact in our local community. Individual school fundraising events are very time consuming and to reach a greater number of children, we knew we had to think on a much grander scale, working with multiple settings and tailoring directly to their variety of needs.
- The first ever Great Big Read in March 2020 secured over £15,100 books shared by 8 schools and 30 nurseries.
- 2020 celebrations were unexpectedly cut short when Covid-19 struck. We weren't dissuaded from our mission to get more children reading though! With families stranded at home we ran a free Summer Challenge and spread joy through book gifts to key worker families.
- Our second event in March 2021 saw triple the number of pupil participants and raised just short of £8,100 books - mid-pandemic, mid-lockdown, mid-homeschool... a result we are so proud of! We collaborated with 3 local bookselling businesses to deliver an even better event with a virtual book fair adding an extra layer of excitement to Great Big Read offering.
- The quieter lockdown periods proved an ideal time to reflect and develop our business offering. Great Big Read is now a termly, so with three main events per year we can service a huge number of schools and nurseries... triple the fun and triple the number of books into children's hands!
- Our fledgling Autumn 2021 event has seen our overall Great Big Read fundraising total reach £27,000 books... WOW!
- The Great Big Read community is now stronger than ever and our initiative is currently evolving into a social enterprise... watch this space!
Our Core Values
Wow every child...
We put children and the love of reading and books at the centre of everything we do. We believe in having fun and our enthusiasm is infectious!
Diversity and inclusion...
Our differences make us stronger and we learn from each other through inclusion and respect.
Environmental sustainability...
We place huge value on ethical and environmental best practices, for this generation and in the future.
Together we are stronger...
Great Big Read is made up of amazing individuals but it’s only through teamwork that we achieve greatness. We are transparent, honest, value others’ contributions, and invest in each other’s growth.
Excellence is a state of mind...
We have high standards and exceptional execution, we take pride in our work. We believe in continuous improvement and constantly seek personal and professional growth.
Think BIG and make a difference...
We push ourselves to be our best and to make an impact every day through our talents, passion and hard work. We create a lasting and positive legacy and believe anything is possible.