He is one of the most influential writers of all time, whose stories, especially his fairy tales, have established themselves as part of the very fabric of western culture. Whether it is The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes or the Ugly Duckling, the collective works of Hans Christian Anderson have left an indelible mark.

The timeless stories have been passed down for many generations and reinterpreted and adapted with great enthusiasm and joy. As legacies go, the 19thcentury Danish author has done rather well.

Not only have his stories entertained children and adults alike, they have also enthused other authors, such as Alan Alexander Milne (Winnie the Poo) and Kenneth Grahame (Wind in the Willows), to delve deeper into their imagination. The world is certainly a richer place because of him.Milne (Winnie the Poo) and Kenneth Grahame (Wind in the Willows), to delve deeper into their imagination. The world is certainly a richer place because of him.

In celebration of his impact, the International Board on Books for Young People founded, in 1967, International Children's Book Day, to "inspire a love of reading and to call to attention to children's books".

It is held annually on Anderson's birthday (April 2nd) and ahead of this year's festivities, we've come up with some ideas on how to make the most of this at school with your primary school pupils.

Write your own short fairytale

Let your pupil's imagination run riot with this activity. The task is simple: write a fairytale within a defined period of time and share it with the rest of the class.

Provide your pupils with some key details. This includes the basic elements that make up a story:

• An obvious beginning (Once upon a time; Long ago ...)
• The world the characters find themselves has to be make-believe
• It contains characters that you don't find in the real world (ghouls, goblins, monsters, elves, dragons and trolls)
• The triumph of good over evil
• Good and bad characters
• A challenge to overcome

Read and tell the class

This is a fantastic activity that promotes comprehension, memory recall and communication skills and pushes youngsters out of their comfort zone. Get pupils to read very short story or chapter out of a book and then explain back to everyone what it was about. Get them to draw images onto a whiteboard as well, which is great for seeing how they visualise a story.

The chilled out reading corner

Ideal for the back end of the day, this chilled out activity is a nice way to wind down a busy day of reading fun. Get some treats in – healthy fruit and veg with a few naughty biscuits thrown in – lots of comfy cushions and seating, play some ambient music and get your pupils to spend some quality time with a book. Beyond just this celebratory day, invest in this kind of environment when getting your pupils to read. It's important because it underscores how pleasant reading is.

Design your own book cover

Another great activity for getting youngsters to think creatively, this involves you, the teacher, reading a story – maybe not that well known – and then challenging the class to come up with a cover and title. Afterwards, get everyone to pin their efforts on a board and have everyone spend some time looking at the images. Then, standing up next to the book covers, get them to talk about their ideas. At the end, reveal the cover and title and see what kind of response this results in.