The first children on a Bradford estate to join a book scheme for under-fives are being registered this week.

Several families in the Canterbury area of the city have been invited to be part of a test registration for the Imagination Library.

The book-gifting scheme was set up by country singer Dolly Parton in the US to offer free books to under-fives. The idea is that youngsters receive a book every month from birth until their fifth birthday.

Canterbury Imagine organiser Jan Winter is hoping to start the project in the autumn after checking all the systems work over the summer, and will be inviting parents and carers to register any babies born in 2012 living on the estate.

She said: “The children should be able to build up their own library of quality books, which will help to foster a love of reading and to encourage children’s literacy to improve even before they start school.”

Last month, the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Dale Smith, pledged £1,000 from his mayoral appeal to get the scheme up and running. In addition, staff at Canterbury Nursery School and Centre for Children and Families are supporting the project by undertaking the registrations. More than 1,000 pre-school children live in the area who could potentially benefit from the book-gifting scheme.

For more information, or to make a donation, e-mail canterburyimagine@btinternet.com.