Sally Phillips reads to Chartham Primary pupils today as Farshore launches book gifts to up to 150 phone box libraries for Pooh's 100th birthday.
A national campaign to put Winnie-the-Pooh books into phone box libraries starts in Chartham this morning. Farshore, the original UK publisher of Winnie-the-Pooh, chose the village’s phone box library for the launch.
The campaign marks 100 years of both Winnie-the-Pooh and the red telephone box. Farshore says it will donate books to up to 150 community libraries housed in former phone boxes across the UK. It is part of the National Year of Reading 2026.
The details come from Farshore’s announcement, sent to Canterbury Live by its press agency, Riot Communications.
What is happening in Chartham today
Farshore’s programme for Tuesday 6 October is:
- 8.30am to 9.30am: a photocall with the actor and comedian Sally Phillips at the phone box library
- 9.30am to 10am: Sally Phillips reads from Winnie-the-Pooh and from A Little Boy and His Bear to Year 3 pupils from Chartham Primary School
- 10.15am to 10.45am: a storytelling workshop with Jane Riordan, who wrote A Little Boy and His Bear
- 11am to 11.30am: an illustration workshop with Andrew Grey, who will teach the children to draw Pooh in the classic style
The event is for the school and accredited media, not a public event.
A Little Boy and His Bear is the new authorised Winnie-the-Pooh sequel. Farshore publishes it on Thursday 8 October.
The library on the green
Chartham’s library is a former telephone kiosk filled with donated books, a two-minute walk from The Shop on The Green. A 2022 profile of the library in Community Ad says:
- it was set up in 2018 and is run by volunteers
- it is free and open around the clock
- it also takes donated DVDs and puzzles
- volunteers deliver to housebound residents
Chartham is about three miles south west of Canterbury, on the Stour.
Why reading
Farshore links the campaign to falling reading enjoyment among children. The most recent figures from the National Literacy Trust, published in June 2026, show a small recovery:
- 36.1% of 8 to 18 year olds said they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2026
- that was up from 32.7% in 2025, which was the lowest in 20 years
- the 2026 survey heard from 125,375 children and young people aged 5 to 18
The trust says enjoyment remains well below where it was a decade ago.
What it means for you
- Using the library: it is free. Take a book, and leave one if you can.
- Donating: books can be left in the box. The 2022 profile said donations could also be left at The Shop on The Green, and that teenage books were most wanted.
- Other phone box libraries: Farshore’s announcement does not say how the 150 libraries will be chosen, or whether others can ask for books. We will add that here when Farshore says.
If you look after a phone box library in the district, tell us at hello@canterburylive.co.uk.
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