World Book Day, the annual international celebration of reading and books, is on Thursday 5th March this year!
Children’s books are sold at £1 each and, as well as the usual 12 titles to choose from across the UK, there will also be 3 exclusive books for Ireland and a Welsh title. Thousands of booksellers and supermarkets are taking part, and the books have been available since 12th February.
Over 50 million vouchers will be issued enabling children to receive a free book. Schools will be sent vouchers to distribute to children.
Camber Community Group has added some vouchers to both the village Book Stops to enable you to access the books if you do not already have a token.
Please check https://booksellers.org.uk/wbd for information about local retailers, and about ways to redeem the token. (Vouchers are valid until 15th March 2026.)
Many publishers traditionally allow their staff to have a ‘volunteer day’ away from the office, distributing free books in the community, at schools and nurseries, and also inside prisons.
The £1 books are also available in braille, large print and audio editions. If you require one of these formats, please contact:
- RNIB – for braille and audio versions – 0303 123 9999
- Guide Dogs – for large print versions – 0345 143 1000
- Calibre Audio – for audio versions – 01296 432 339
As usual, World Book Day has lined up lots of events, both physical and online, and is supporting the Go All In campaign as part of the National Year of Reading. For more detailed information, please visit www.worldbookday.com where you can also find out more about the positive impact of World Book Day and the role that reading for pleasure and sharing stories play in a child’s life.
World Book Day was founded by UNESCO in 1995 and the first time it was celebrated in the UK was in 1997. It is now celebrated in over 100 countries worldwide. World Book Day is “a cultural movement that 97% of children have heard of and that 86% of adults are familiar with”, according to the charity’s former Chief Executive, Cassie Chadderton, in an interview with The FLIP online newsletter.
