World Book Day

Did you know that World Book Day was set up by the UN?  It was set up by their cultural and education arm which is now UNESCO.  I had no idea, I thought it was probably something set up by one of the big children's book publishers, how wrong I was.

What is world book day all about?
World Book Day is a celebration! It’s a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it’s a celebration of reading. In fact, it’s the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.  This is the 15th year there’s been a World Book Day, and on 1st March children of all ages will come together to appreciate reading. Very loudly and very happily. The main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. That’s why we will be sending schools (including those nurseries and secondary schools that have specially registered to participate), packs of Book Tokens and age-ranged World Book Day Resource Packs (age-ranged into Nursery/Pre-School, Primary and Secondary) full of ideas and activities, display material and more information about how to get involved in World Book Day.

What happens?
Thanks to the generosity of National Book Tokens Ltd, publishers and booksellers, we can send millions of book vouchers to children and young people (more than 14 million, in fact: that’s one for nearly every child aged under eighteen in the country).  Then… the kids can take their voucher to a local bookseller and can use it to pick one of EIGHT (exclusive, new and completely free) books. Or, if they’d rather, they can use it to get £1 off any book or audio book costing over £2.99 at a participating bookshop or book club (terms and conditions apply).

 
Rachel adores world book day, mostly because she loves books and adores the opportunity to talk about her favourite books and then be given a free book.  I'll be interested to see which of the books she chooses this year, I'm thinking it'll be Jacqueline Wilson's Big Day Out because she loves everything by that woman; but she also loves Roald Dahl so his Fantabulous Facts book might be chosen.  We will have to see.
 
Here are the books available for free with the token, what will your child pick?
 
1. The What The Ladybird Heard Song, by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Lydia Monks
2. Big Day Out, by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt
3. Winnie Flies Again, by Valerie Thomas, illustrated by Korky Paul
4. Where's Wally Now?, by Martin Handford
5. Magic Molly: The Clever Little Kitten, by Holly Webb
6. Roald Dahl's Fantabulous Facts, by Roald Dahl
7. How To Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell
8. Skulduggery Pleasant, by Derek Landy