World Book Day has been running for over 25 years and is set to take place again this week on the 2nd March. It is an international and worldwide celebration that promotes the enjoyment of books and reading. Each year, World Book Day seeks to encourage everyone (young people in particular) to discover the pleasure of reading. Here is everything you need to know ahead of World Book Day 2023!
Did you know?
Did you know that ‘World Book Day’ are actually a charity? The charity changes lives through a love of books and reading. Their mission is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person to have a book of their own. Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income. They hope to see more children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and the improved life chances this brings them.
What is World Book Day?
World Book Day was created by UNESCO in 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading. It is marked in over 100 countries across the globe. The first celebration in the UK took place in 1997 to encourage young people to discover the pleasure of reading. As World Book Day founder, Baroness Gail Rebuck, recalls: ‘We wanted to do something to reposition reading and our message is the same today as it was then – that reading is fun, relevant, accessible, exciting, and has the power to transform lives’.
Spending just 10 minutes a day reading and sharing stories with children can make a crucial difference to their future success and it’s fun for all involved. That’s why the charity continues to encourage children and young people to read for pleasure through its work with authors, illustrators, publishers, bookshops and libraries.
Why is World Book Day so important?
World Book Day aims to promote reading for pleasure. So, what is reading for pleasure?
Feeling a sense of satisfaction or pleasure by engaging with chosen reading material in your free time.
The day is aimed at encouraging more children to develop a habit of reading for pleasure in order to improve the life chances that are available to them. The evidence base shows that there are 6 building elements which support a child to read for pleasure:
- Being read to regularly
- Having books at home and at school
- Having a choice in what to read
- Finding time to read
- Having trusted help to find a book
- Making reading FUN!
These 6 elements shape and guide the importance of everything that World Book Day does!
What is the theme for World Book Day 2023?
The theme for 2023 is making it ‘your’ World Book Day. This aims to exhort all children to embrace what it means to be readers, regardless of their socioeconomic status.
The National Literacy Trust said: “Since it was first celebrated in the UK and Ireland over 25 years ago, the day has grown to become an essential calendar fixture for schools, settings and communities. It provides a fantastic opportunity to focus on reading for pleasure, supporting children’s autonomy in book choice, and embedding a habit of reading that brings a wide range of benefits”.
How to take part in World Book Day 2023
World Book Day is celebrated by schools and people across the country with many activities – mostly including a dress -up day! There are many ways for you to join in the celebrations such as:
- Dress up as your favourite character from your favourite book!
- Host a book-exchange to read with your friends, classmates, or colleagues to share your interests and get to know each other better (as well as hopefully reading a great new book!)
- Write a review of your favourite book
- Attend a book sale (over 4000 booksellers will also take part in World Book Day 2023, hosting events and activities!)
- Share a bit about your favourite book on social media
- Visit a bookshop – there’s never been a better time to support local booksellers, and going to a bookshop on World Book Day is definitely an exciting outing!)
The £1 Book Selection
The World Book Day charity have recently shared a fantastic line up of £1 books for 2023 that children can choose for free with their £1 book token! Tokens are being handed out to children across the country and can be exchanged for one of these books completely free.
With books for beginning, early, fluent and independent readers, there is something for everyone to enjoy. The books are available until 26th March 2023 and you can find your nearest participating bookseller here!