World Book Day: 1st March celebrates reading
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Today is the 15th annual World Book Day. The non-governmental organisation and registered charity World Book Day Ltd aims to celebrate reading and ensure that all children in the United Kingdom have the means to access books.
On 1st March, National Book Tokens Ltd and contributing publishers band together to send 14 million (enough for every person under 18 in the UK) £1 book tokens out to schools all across the country. These tokens are then redeemable against a range of books, written by some of children’s most loved authors, such as Roald Dahl, Jacqueline Wilson and Cressida Cowell.
The purpose of World Book Day is to give every young person the chance to enjoy the pleasure of reading. According to a recent report by the Evening Standard, 1 in 3 children in London does not own a single book and a shocking number of children leave primary school unable to read.
World Book Day gives every child financial and logistical access to books. More than this, it creates a feeling of celebration and excitement over reading. Book fairs and nationwide events bring back the buzz of story-telling. World Book Day reminds us that books are fun. It is a celebration of literature in general and of the importance of books. It shows us how books can enrich and enliven us, inspire, amuse and charm us.
Determined to make the price of books secondary to their value, World Book Day is an important date on the National calendar.
Abigail Moss