Read Your Way this World Book Day 2024
Exciting events, activities and partnerships will encourage more children to enjoy reading, however they choose to!
The charity World Book Day® is holding its annual celebration on Thursday 7th March right across the UK and Ireland.
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 improves children’s life chances across a range of social, educational and well-being measures.[1] However, research from National Literacy Trust found that fewer than 1 in 2 (47.8%) children now say they enjoy reading[2]; this is the lowest level since 2005, and reading enjoyment is lowest among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.[3]
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/€1.50 books chosen with the help of children, while children’s everyday – and exciting – reading lives are brought to life through the dynamic imagery of World Book Day illustrator Vivian Truong.
The authors and illustrators of this year’s £1/€1.50 books will also be found at events and activities across the country during the campaign.
One million children in the UK currently do not have a single book of their own at home,[4] and World Book Day’s £1/€1.50 books are often the first book many children will own.
Supported by long-term sponsor National Book Tokens and working alongside publishers and booksellers, World Book Day distributes over 15 million £1/€1.50 book tokens across the UK nations and Ireland every year through schools, nurseries, libraries, prisons and other charities.
With twice as many children from disadvantaged backgrounds reported not owning a book,[5] World Book Day will also reach more in-need communities in 2024, ensuring the excitement of choosing a book, hearing from authors and seeing illustrators reaches more children than ever.
Finally, 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 our 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:
- 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 principles underpin everything the charity does, sitting at the heart of our World Book Day activities in 2024.
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
World Book Day is working hard in communities to reach children and families in areas of high need
World Book Day Events
Funded by Julia and Hans Rausing, World Book Day is working with 20 libraries in high-deprived areas with low literacy levels to help create a legacy around reading for pleasure. Libraries in areas where there is limited access to retailers/bookshops will welcome local children to swap their £1/€1.50 book tokens for books, followed by an exciting event in Spring, to inspire local families to continue enjoying reading together long after the day itself.
Four library events, supported by Arts Council England through its National Lottery Project Grants programme, will also bring to life the World Book Day 6 Principles through exciting activity with £1/€1.50 book authors.
In 2024, a massive 105,000 books are being distributed through a range of supporters and partners, including working with BookTrust’s network of 6,000 local organisations to get the £1 book tokens into some of the country’s most disadvantaged communities.
Alongside events, 24,000 books will be distributed through prisons to help families read together, while 43,750 books will be shared across 17 National Literacy Hubs and over 100 football clubs to support book ownership in areas of high deprivation and low literacy.
For the first time in 2024, Scottish Book Trust have produced new resources for early years settings and schools who are celebrating World Book Day in Scotland. As well as including the “Share a Story” content on the free Bookbug app for families, schools across the U.K. can watch over 50 author events through their Authors Live on Demand programme at a time that suits them. In Wales over 9,000 £1/€1.50 books will be distributed through foodbanks through the Books Council of Wales. 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.
This year, £1/€1.50 Books, Authors and Illustrators are EVERYWHERE
Bookshop Tour
Every single World Book Day £1/€1.50 author (and some illustrators) will be at their local bookshop sometime between 15th February and 8th March. Look out for more details on where these are happening in the coming weeks (authors/illustrators will be available for media interviews.)
Over 400 independent bookshops and retailers across the UK and Ireland including The Works, WHSmith, Waterstones, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda will be welcoming children, families, schools, and local communities to have fun choosing a free book with their £1/€1.50 token to discover more wonderful ways to read.
£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.
£1 books on the go with Yoto
Audiobooks are a wonderful way to bring the joy of storytelling to a wider audience, especially pre-readers, reluctant readers or those who otherwise might struggle to access reading. Yoto is our Official Audio Partner for the second year running. As well as providing a selection of free audiobook stories via the Yoto App and on World of Stories, £1 from the sale of a selection of 35 Yoto Cards sold during the campaign period (15th February – 31st March) will be donated to the World Book Day.
There are some exciting new fundraising partnerships with book-loving brands
Contemporary jeweller Tatty Devine has created a 16-piece jewellery collection, inspired by some of its favourite books, authors, and genres. Launching on 25th Jan 2024, 10% from each piece sold will be donated to World Book Day.
Vintage-style fashion brand Joanie have created two collaboration pieces for the charity, donating £5 from each sale of its TOBY sweatshirt and £10 from each sale of its TALLY dress from its collection to World Book Day this year.
Amscan International Ltd will launch a new collection of World Book Day-themed costumes from classic fairytales, with 5% from every sale going to support the charity’s work. Sales of a new World Book Day celebration pack from Party Delights will also give a 5% donation to the charity. Both companies are part of Wonder.
Children in schools across the country will also be able to enjoy a book-themed menu and activity sheet, thanks to school catering provider Green Gourmet.
Jigsaw Education Group are producing free resources based on their Jigsaw Outdoors programme (as part of their bigger Jigsaw PSHE programme) which are World Book Day themed, encouraging active engagement with reading outdoors, at both school and home.
A host of thrilling partnerships will create opportunities to Read Your Way
BBC
This year will include a brand new BBC Teach Live Lesson which will be available to watch on CBBC, 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 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 hugely popular annual ‘The Great Big Footy and Booky 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!
For more information, contact MHP at worldbookday@mhpgroup.com
About World Book Day | World Book Day is a charity that changes lives through a love of books and 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. www.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. Find out more at www.nationalbooktokens.com
For more information about World Book Day partners featured in the release please visit the following links:
- BookTrust
- Scottish Book Trust
- The Books Council of Wales
- Foras Na Gaeilge
- Vision Ireland
- An Post
- National Literacy Trust
- Arts Council England
- Libraries Connected
- Publishers Association
- Booksellers Association
- BBC Education
- Julia and Hans Rausing Trust
- Yoto
[1] https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/pisainfocus/48624701.pdf
[2] Children and Young People’s Reading Research Report 2023 | National Literacy Trust
[3] Children and Young People’s Reading Research Report 2023 | National Literacy Trust
