Bookstart originated in Birmingham, United Kingdom in 1992. In 2003, the Department of Cultural Affairs of Taichung County referenced reading promotion models abroad and introduced Bookstart to its library and held the first Bookstart activity in Taiwan.
To promote the concept of parent–child joint book reading in families with children 0–5 years old so as to help infants and toddlers cultivate the habit of reading at a young age, from July to September each year, Taichung Public Library promotes a series of Bookstart activities. By giving free reading gift bags, the library encourages parents of infants and toddlers to adopt picture book joint reading during the children’s growing process to increase parent–child relations and to facilitate young children’s brain development.