A CRAZE started by a Dumbarton mum is exciting little bookworms.

Look For a Book West Dunbartonshire is an exciting new game of hide and seek with books.

The project is helping children to get outdoors and feel passionate about reading by looking for new books to read and hiding others for children to find and enjoy.

Claire Neeson, founder of Look For a Book West Dunbartonshire, told the Reporter: "During the October break whilst we were visiting Edinburgh Zoo, My 6 year old daughter Zoe found a book.

"She was so excited to read it and re-hide it when we returned home to Dumbarton. She thought it would be amazing if her friends also joined in and played hide and seek with books.

"Zoe and I realised that she had so many books that she had simply outgrown and decided to hide 5 around Dumbarton to kick start our project. We posted a video and clues to help other children locate the books.

"On the way home from our first walk we spotted two young children reading one of the books with their Mum, it was so lovely to see how excited they were."

READ MORE: £4.6m plan to transform historic Dumbarton building into library and museum

West Dunbartonshire Council is supporting the initiative by offering to donate withdrawn library books. The local libraries also have stocks of printed sheets and clear wallets free of charge to keep the books dry.

After reading a book, the children hide it in locations across the area and post clues and photos on Facebook to help other children find the hidden treasures.

Once the children are finished, they are then encouraged to re-hide the book in a different spot to keep the game going.

Councillor Ian Dickson, Convener of Corporate Services, said: “This is a fantastic scheme that gets children reading all sorts of genres and discovering books they may not have otherwise come across.

“The popularity of the West Dunbartonshire group is wonderful with the numbers growing every day, and more than 1,500 members on the area’s Facebook group page.”

READ MORE: All the latest news from Dumbarton and the Vale

Councillor Iain McLaren, Vice Convener of Corporate Services, said: “This is an exciting way to get children interested in reading. I fully support any initiative that encourages children to read and the reason it’s been so popular is that it’s good fun. It is also a great way to read books that you might not necessarily chose to read. ”

Claire added: “I have been blown away by the huge support for this great project. It is been a real boost to see how many people have got involved and shared their pictures and stories on the page. I would also like to thank West Dunbartonshire Libraries for offering to supply books, printed sheets and wallets to ensure as many families as possible can take part.”

To take part visit Look for a Book West Dunbartonshire on Facebook. Stocks of printed sheets and wallets will be available at Alexandria, Balloch and Dumbarton Libraries from next week.