With World Book Day taking place around the globe very soon, now is the perfect time to plan your celebrations…

What is World Book Day?

World Book Day is by far the biggest event of its kind. It’s a huge, exciting celebration of reading and books marked in more than 100 countries around the world, including Spain, Sweden, India and America.  The main aim is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading on the day itself and beyond.  This fosters a love of reading, which is paramount in promoting communication, language and literacy.

How did it start?

This year, World Book Day will be 20 years old, so there’s more reason than ever to get those celebrations underway. World Book Day was designated by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and grows in popularity year on year.

When is it?

In the UK and Ireland, World Book Day 2017 takes place on 2^nd March.  Internationally, World Book Day takes place on different days in different countries –most commonly in April.  (It is sometimes known as the International Day of the Book).  The variations enable each country to pick a date that will suit them best, taking account of factors such as national holidays and school term dates.

What happens?

All sorts of lively, celebratory activities take place across the world in early years settings, schools, libraries and community centres, organised by their staff, parents and carers.

In some countries there are additional initiatives – for instance, in the UK and Ireland, World Book Day provides children with the opportunity to have a book of their own by distributing £1 book tokens via registered schools, pre-schools and nurseries, which can be exchanged for special World Book Day books, or used as part payment towards another book.

How can I get involved?

You can search online to see if there’s a dedicated World Book Day website for your country. The UK and Ireland website is perhaps the biggest, and is already live for 2017, so it is well worth a visit wherever you are in the world http://www.worldbookday.com/ It features a downloadable resource pack crammed full of ideas, activities and display materials you can use on the day, alongside video clips, games and sections dedicated to early years settings and schools.  Be sure to check out the Inspiration section too.

In addition, here are some favourite activities from across the globe – follow the links for even more inspiration:

• Hold a dressing up day
• http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/25-brilliant-world-book-day-10945118
• Create a reading den or nook http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/blog/reading/2015/11/the-whys-and-hows-of-creating-a-reading-den
• Invite an author or illustrator to visit (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is the largest in the world and lists their members worldwide) http://www.scbwi.org/member-search/
• Create some new story sacks
• http://www.earlyyearscareers.com/eyc/learning-and-development/5-great-story-sack-ideas/
• Have a book quiz
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28804596
• Make up stories in 30 seconds
• http://www.readathon.org/thestorymaker/?gclid=CPrY_dba4tECFQZAGwodcusGXQ

You may also like to visit the Literacy Trust website for a whole host of book resources http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/early_years

Whatever you do for World Book Day, enjoy your celebrations!

Miranda