The charity, World Book Day® is holding its annual celebration on Thursday 7th March right across the island of Ireland and the UK with the hope of encouraging more young people to read. Find out what's in store here...
World Book Day 2024 will celebrate that children are more likely to enjoy reading when their choices are championed and we make reading fun. Reading for pleasure is an important indicator of a child’s future success, but recent research has shown that more than half of children and young people do not enjoy reading in their free time, the lowest level since 2005, and that reading enjoyment is lowest among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Read Your Way calls on everyone to let go of pressure and expectations, giving children a choice - and a chance - to enjoy reading!
Young voices are at the heart of the campaign, with World Book Day’s selection of €1.50 books chosen with the help of children, while children’s everyday reading lives are brought to life through the dynamic imagery of World Book Day illustrator Vivian Truong.
Supported by long-term sponsor, National Book Tokens and working alongside publishers and booksellers, World Book Day distributes over 15 million €1.50/£1 book tokens across the UK nations and Ireland every year through schools, nurseries, libraries, prisons and other charities.
Two exclusive Irish titles will be available for young readers in Ireland to choose from. The Curious Case of the Irish Yeti: Molly Malone and Bram Stoker, written by Alan Nolan, illustrated by Shane Cluskey and published by The O’Brien Press, alongside the Irish-language book, Inis Mara by Tristan Rosenstock, illustrated by Mark Wickham and published by LeabhairCOMHAR, supported by Foras na Gaeilge.
These titles will be joining 13 other titles from Rob Biddulph, Louie Stowell and Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé amongst others. Visit worldbookday.com/books to discover the full list of €1.50/£1 books.
2024 will see the launch and evolution of a number of new exciting partnerships, including new ways to fundraise, to ensure more children and families can experience and benefit from the joy of reading.
Cassie Chadderton, CEO of World Book Day comments; "Our aim for World Book Day 2024 is to bring the fun of reading to more children, to celebrate their choices and encourage everyone to Read Their Way! Fewer children and their families are enjoying reading, just when the life-changing benefits are needed most."
She continues; "The World Book Day £1/€1.50 authors and illustrators will be out and about at bookshops, libraries and schools across the country encouraging children to read for pleasure and we’re excited that a fantastic array of partners and supporters are making it easier than ever to get involved with activities, fundraising or simply choosing a £1/€1.50 book for free with our £1/€1.50 tokens."
Here’s a taster of the World Book Day 2024 programme: To kick off, the fantastic World Book Day Principles and Resources are available to all. World Book Day have developed six evidence-based principles that can be implemented easily by families to support children in adopting a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure:
1. Being read to regularly
2. Having books at home and at school
3. Having a choice in what to read
4. Finding time to read
5. Having trusted help to find a book
6. Making reading fun!
These principles underpin everything the charity does, sitting at the heart of the World Book Day activities in 2024.
In Ireland, World Book Day will continue to work with a network of partners to extend its reach and impact, including Foras na Gaeilge, An Post and Vision Ireland.
£1/€1.50 tokens can be redeemed for any £1/€1.50 book from Thursday 15th February to Sunday 31 March 2024 in bookshops, bookshop chains and participating retailers. Alternatively, they can also be used as a £1/€1.50 contribution to any other full-priced book or audiobook. The single-use digital token can also be downloaded from the World Book Day website. There is no cost involved at all in claiming a £1/€1.50 World Day Book.
Resource Packs
World Book Day offers downloadable resource packs, assets and webinars for teachers, parents, carers and beyond, to bring reading for pleasure to life for children in exciting and relevant ways www.worldbookday.com/celebrate-world-book-day
A host of thrilling partnerships will create opportunities to Read Your Way...
BBC
This year will include a brand new CBBC Live Lesson, a deeper content partnership with Tiny Happy People and a collaboration with the returning children’s writing competition, 500 Words.
McDonald’s Happy Meal
McDonald’s will be supporting World Book Day 2024 across all its Irish and UK restaurants with a special range of Happy Meal® boxes. The £1/€1.50 book token will feature on every single World Book Day-themed Happy Meal® box during the promotional period ensuring tokens are available to millions of children during this time and will be supported by further marketing in-stores.
National Literacy Trust
There are lots of opportunities for families to get involved in the annual National Literacy Trust’s hugely popular Footy and Booky interactive quiz this World Book Day.
#PassThePen, with BookTrust
Expect to see a host of familiar names hand over the reins of their social media accounts to some rising stars in children’s literature – watch this space! Designed to help promote visibility, champion new voices and generate book sales, World Book Day 2024 authors will be paired with up-and-coming writers and illustrators from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Watch out for more partnership announcements in the lead up to World Book Day 2024.
Visit www.worldbookday.com for more information and don’t forget to Read Your Way this World Book Day!
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