Friday, March 4, 2022

World Book Day 3rd March


The 25th anniversary of World Book Day is in 2022, with this year's theme being marked by the message: 


“You are a reader.”



World Book Day was created by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading. It is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.  The first World Book Day in the UK and Ireland took place in 1997 to encourage young people to discover the pleasure of reading.

Our mission is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity 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. We want 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. Designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, World Book Day is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. World Book Day

In the UK there are books for just one pound available for children. Read about the UK program of National Book tokens.  There are tons of resources to support this program some of which you could adapt for use here in Australia for a different celebration such as CBCA Book Week or the IBBY celebration International Children's Book Day (2nd April).  Join IBBY Australia here. WBD even have a catchy song!




I have a wonderful book in my collection - A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader. Here are a few quotes which resonate with me about reading and books and the magic of this experience:

"Sometimes when I'm reading a good book and I'm under a blanket and no one's trying to talk to me, I forget that I'm reading. The tall grass of the story grows around me ... " page 18

"A writer can fit a whole world inside a book. Really. You can go there. You can learn things while you are away. You can bring them back to the world you normally live in." Neil Gaiman page 22


Maisie Paradise Shearring page 73

"A book is an invitation to see the world through another's eyes: blue eyes, black eyes, fiery green wolf eyes."  page 78

"The thing about reading is that anything is possible. No special effects, no stunt men. If the writer can write it, it's real." page 88


Sophie Blackall page 23

"Reading let's you be quiet in a chaotic world." Naomi Wolf page 94

"A book is a friend forever and ever." page 96

"When you love the same book as someone else, it's like sharing a secret without saying a word." page 134


Isabelle Arsenault page 233

You can continue your celebration of books and reading and children enjoying books on other days:

14th February Library Lovers Day



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