World Book Day first started in 1995 as an annual charity event held by UNESCO to celebrate books and reading.
In the UK and Ireland, World Book Day always takes place on the first Thursday in March. 

This year, it falls on Thursday 2^nd March 2023. 

In other countries around the world, it is celebrated on 23^rd April, but the UK and Ireland opted for a different date because the original date would have clashed with Easter school holidays.

The power of reading

World Book Day is an initiative to help promote the importance of reading for young children. It is one of the most effective ways to master the power of language, unleash imagination and improve brain development. Spending just 10 minutes a day reading and sharing stories with children can make a crucial difference to their future success and its fun for all involved.

Reading for pleasure has been called one of the single biggest indicators for a child’s future success, even more than their family circumstances, parents’ income, or educational background.

It’s also a time when authors, illustrators, books, and reading can be appreciated and celebrated in over 100 countries around the world.

How is World Book Day celebrated?

There are many ways to celebrate World Book Day and get involved in with the event.

• Dress up as your favourite character from your favourite book. Dressing up is a popular way to create fun in an expressive way. The beauty of dressing up means there are endless options, and you can be as creative as you want – and best of all many costumes can easily be made from things found around the house. Check out our Last minute no-sew World Book Day costume ideas you can easily put together.
• Host a costume parade around the school to show them off or a competition for the funniest or most authentic costume?
• Hold a sponsored read-a-thon and raise money for charities like Book Aid International, where proceeds go towards buying books for children who cannot afford it.
• Write a review of your favourite book.
• Hold a competition to guess how many books there are in your school library.
• Design a book cover, poster, bookmark, or bunting to decorate your classroom.
• Share a Story. Read a story aloud with your class for 10 minutes a day. Perhaps you could try to keep it up for a whole month… or longer!
• Book swap – this is a great way to save money and explore new books. You swap with another class, year group or amongst the pupils your class.
• Make a bookmark which you can use.
• Rewrite the ending – take your favourite book and write an alternative ending. Share it with the rest of the class and see what they think!

There are lots more ideas and resources on the official World Book Day website.

However you decide to celebrate - have fun!