Show Your Shares! says World Book Day, as charity’s celebration brings the joy of reading to children wherever they are
World Book Day takes the transformative power of reading to homes, schools and libraries everywhere with fun-packed day of free digital events, videos and online activities
Show Your Shares mass participation campaign sees people up and down the country fill social media channels with images of shared reading
The Duchess of Cornwall reads as part of the event launching World Book Day today
World Book Day, 4 March 2021 – From bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens, families across the country will join The Duchess of Cornwall, Dermot O’Leary, Adam Kay, Louise Pentland, MC Grammar and an inspirational crew of authors and illustrators to celebrate World Book Day wherever they are today.
Covid-19 has contributed to widening the economic and educational gap – increasing the need to recognise reading for pleasure as the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success.
As part of an event to launch World Book Day, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall said: “To actually own your first book is something that you’re never going to forget. (…) That first book will be there forever. And it’s hopefully going to lead children to reading more and more, discovering different authors and different subjects. I think for a lot of children out there, World Book Day actually means the birth of reading.”
Cassie Chadderton, World Book Day CEO, said: “As a charity, World Book Day has, for over twenty years, been offering all children and young people the chance to have a book of their own. In the last week of home-schooling, we want to bring the joy and magic of reading to children everywhere. The phenomenal support World Book Day has received this year shows just how much we can all rally behind the vision for all children to enjoy the life-changing benefits of reading.”
Research released this week by World Book Day in collaboration with BookTrust, CLPE, National Literacy Trust, The Reading Agency, Egmont and Nielsen Book has shown that many children embraced reading at the beginning of the pandemic, with young people saying that books helped them relax (40%) and made them feel happy (35%).
However, access to books remains a serious issue, particularly amongst disadvantaged children. CLPE’s research found a quarter of primary schools raised concern that this had become a barrier to reading levels, while one year into the pandemic overall reading has decreased slightly this year, according to the latest research from Nielsen Books.
World Book Day’s 2021 programme was designed to be enjoyed by children and families at home or at school, with accessibility and inclusion at the core of its offer to engage children from all backgrounds with a life-long habit of reading for pleasure:
At 9.30am, join HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and £1 book authors Tom Fletcher, Zanib Mian and Katherine Rundell, as they kick off the day with the children of Acklam Whin School in a morning of celebration in partnership with Oak National Academy and the National Literacy Trust. Tune in here
Listen to World Book Day’s first ever official song: The award-winning-teacher-turned-rapper MC Grammar – who became an international sensation in 2019 after videos of him rapping classic children’s books went viral – has penned an official World Book Day tune. Listen here
At 10.30am, attend the flagship show in World Book Day’s free digital event programme: Headlined Words and Pictures, this morning event is starring Joseph Coelho & Fiona Lumbers, Tom Fletcher and Lydia Monks and special guest Rob Biddulph, hosted by Nigel Clarke. This is one of three events this week – all available to watch live and on-demand. Join here
Join the Show Your Shares mass participation campaign: Share a picture of you reading together, anywhere and at any time, and share it on your social media channels or via the World Book Day website. With a brand-new #WorldBookDay emoji on Twitter, every social media channel will be flooded with shared reading today. More here
At 11.30am, be part of a special BBC Live Lessons event, starring Sita Brahmachari, Jess French and Football Schools, alongside Clare Balding, Ben Bailey Smith, Liz Pichon, Greg James and Chris Smith, with live Q&A with Humza Arshad. More here
Catch one of World Book Day’s new 10-minute reads, featuring The Unicorn Theatre with a special reading from The Twits by Roald Dahl, Tom Fletcher, Joseph Coelho & Fiona Lumbers, Lydia Monks, Jonny Duddle, Jess French, Humza Arshad, Katherine Rundell, Football School, Dermot O’Leary, Adam Kay, Jacqueline Wilson, Sophie Dahl, and others
Go on a World Book Day Scavenger Hunt: World Book Day has partnered with Twinkl to offer a choice of activities to help demonstrate the joy reading can bring. Dive into a book scavenger hunt and try to find specific words or items from stories you have at home or in class. More here
Be part of a teen and young adult research project: Under the banner ‘The Power of Books’, World Book Day is exploring how young people today feel about reading in relation to future plans and success, stress, anxiety and mental health. The project, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, comes supported by authors including, Holly Bourne, Derek Landy, Mel and Nat of Black Girls Book Club, and Cecilia Knapp, the Young People’s Laureate for London. More here
Throughout the week, the charity has has been sharing short videos of families reading together across its social media channels. In the clips, produced in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, children and adults talk about the joy of reading together, as well as some of the challenges of fitting reading into their lives, and what their experiences have been like during lockdown. You can watch the full set here.
Toby (9), who coins the word “intrestation” in his interview, says: “You can get lost in books, that’s the thing I love about them.”
Jellisha (8) says: “When I read to my brother, I feel like we spend more time together, and we disucss the story and have so much fun.”
And Zeva (6), who loves how books give her information, has a simple message: “World Book Day is the best day.”
World Book Day’s 2021 initiatives to engage children from all backgrounds with a life-long habit of reading for pleasure include:
50 professional football club community organisations across the country will deliver free books to local schools through their Premier League Primary Stars sessions in partnership with the National Literacy Trust
An extended partnership with McDonald’s will see the food company include World Book Day’s £1 token in all its Happy Meal Boxes from 3 March to 13 April
A donation of over 30,000 World Book Day £1 books by publishers will arrive in National Literacy Trust hub areas to support communities where low levels of literacy are seriously impacting people’s lives
Activities with libraries and community partners: In Blackpool, Doncaster, Nottingham and Middlesbrough World Book Day is working with Libraries Connected and the National Literacy Trust to deliver local World Book Day events
BookTrust to distribute 90k tokens via their BookStart Coordinators working in libraries and community settings
A partnership with Read for Good to get 2,400 books directly to school children in deprived areas
A partnership with Scottish BookTrust to distribute 5k vouchers through Bookbug for the Home, a programme to introduce the benefits of stories to families with very young children who are facing significant barriers such as poverty and social isolation
All UK prisons in the UK to ensure 24,000 books help families enjoy reading together
Royal Mail to give post boxes a World Book Day makeover, honouring authors who have been doing wonderful work in service of children’s literature and wellbeing during the lockdowns. They are Cressida Cowell (Oban), Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola (Shepherd’s Bush, London), Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks (Sheffied), Eloise Williams (Cardiff), Sam McBratney (Belfast)
A World Book Day-themed edition of the favourite children’s magazine Beano will be available
KIDZ BOP, the children’s music brand, best known for singing today’s biggest hits, sung by kids for kids, will host special readings on their social media channels
Community interest company Goodstitch have created an official World Book Day t-shirt and Pawprint Family have designed a special World Book Day badge
The latest research for the National Literacy Trust shows the positive impact the celebration has had during the pandemic: When asked in early 2021 what they had done differently as a result of World Book Day 2020, 3 in 5 primary children (62%) said that they had read more books as a result. Over half (54%) had talked more about books with family and friends. A third (34%) had also read more books with family and friends.
To get their own £1 book children can use the printed token, provided to schools and nurseries. Schools also have the option of a new single-use digital version to share with families that can be printed at home or shown to booksellers on a phone or tablet.
World Book Day’s £1 books can be found in major supermarkets as well as bookshop chains, and bookshops are offering new ways to make the £1 books available, even in lockdown. Booksellers will honour the tokens beyond the 28th March (while stocks last) and many are planning to welcome families to World Book Day events later in spring.
Children can choose from a vast range of exciting books by 2021 World Book Day authors and illustrators Julia Donaldson, Lydia Monks, Tom Fletcher, Greg Abbott, Joseph Coelho, Fiona Lumbers, Jonny Duddle, Zanib Mian, Nasaya Mafaridik, Jess French, Aleesha Nandhra, Sita Brahmachari, Katherine Rundell, Humza Arshad, Henry White, Aleksei Bitskoff, Alexander Bellos, Ben Lyttleton, Derek Landy, Holly Jackson, Judi Curtin, and Huw Aaron. Find out more.
With major new Arts Council funding behind its vision to engage children from all backgrounds with a life-long habit of reading, World Book Day holds together an ever-expanding network of corporate and organisational partners, including McDonald’s, Toppsta, Fun Kids Radio, Cartoon Network, Egmont Magazines. Read more.
World Book Day is funded by publishers and booksellers, and generously sponsored by National Book Tokens.
Find more information, and join the conversation via:
worldbookday.com | @WorldBookDayUK | #WorldBookDay
Notes to Editors
About World Book Day | World Book Day changes lives through a love of books and shared 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. worldbookday.com
About National Book Tokens | National Book Tokens are the perfect gift for book lovers everywhere and are the only gift cards sold and accepted in bookshops across the UK and Ireland, including all the major chains and Local independents. As proud sponsors of World Book Day, National Book Tokens supports lifelong learning and improving literacy and access to reading for everyone. nationalbooktokens.com
