Today is World Book Day, enjoyed by children everywhere and now in its 20th year.
World Book Day’s purpose is to encourage reading and instil a love of books in children.
15 million free £1 World Book Day book tokens are being distributed through schools in the UK and Ireland, local booksellers will accept the token against a range of £1 books or against full price books or audio books. The tokens are valid until Sunday 26th March 2017.
Children in Stockport are being encouraged to take part in this fun event with some schools for example asking pupils to dress as a character from a book; Create a storybook/book based game; Discover new authors; Experience the joy of stories and storytelling; Explore language; Respond to a character’s dilemma and share recommended reads.
David Walliams, Dame Jacqueline Wilson and Julia Donaldson are among the “national treasures” who have written new stories to mark the occasion.
World Book Day Director Kirsten Grant says: “World Book Day is about creating readers for the future by igniting a love of books and reading in children and young people. It’s about encouraging them to visit their local bookshop and empowering them to make their own choices about the kinds of books they want to read. What better way to do this than offering them stories from the best writing and illustrating talent being published in the UK and Ireland today? We couldn’t be happier to have so many national treasures on board for our 20th anniversary – nobody can better capture children’s imaginations.”
Councillor David Sedgwick Executive Member for Reform & Governance said: ”World Book Day is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and most importantly it’s a celebration of reading, children of all ages can buy some fantastic new books for just £1 or for free if using their World Book Day token and have the chance to participate in various events at their school and in Stockport’s Libraries, a great way to learn and have fun at the same time.”
Follow what is happening on Twitter – #WorldBookDay20
