World Book Day 2021
Did you know that 10-year-olds who enjoy reading can have an average reading age of 1.3 years higher than their peers who don’t?
Promoting reading for pleasure is at the heart of Sweet Cherry and we aim to break down the barriers that often get in the way of reading.
World Book Day is returning for its 24th year on 4th March 2021. The campaign aims to encourage children of all ages and backgrounds across the UK to develop a life-long habit of reading for pleasure. The charity’s key initiative is the provision of millions of book tokens every year – enough for every child across the UK and Ireland to exchange for a £1 book or redeem £1 off the cover price of any book in a participating bookshop for an extended time this year.
World Book Day provides 3 in 10 of children receiving free school meals with their first-ever book of their own. Additionally, schools can take part in a lively programme of competitions, activities and even fancy dress – contributing to improving reading habits in 66% of primary schools.
Although World Book Day might look a bit different this year, it’s going to be just as fun! Over 30 million book tokens are set to be distributed to schools and nurseries across the UK, plus they’ll be appearing on McDonalds Happy Meal boxes!
Online, readers will also be able to hear from a starry cast of authors and illustrators through World Book Day’s YouTube channel which is hosting a series of events such as ‘Books and the Real World’ and ‘Books that Make you LOL!’.
There’ll be further bookish content available on World Book Day’s website, including a free audiobook of Sweet Cherry’s very own Mina Mistry Investigates: The Case of the Disgusting School Dinners by Angie Lake. Young readers can even win special World Book Day badges by taking part in online competitions and activities, involving everything from making butterbeer to building a reading den!
The event offers something for everyone, from online games to video books, making it the perfect opportunity for children who rarely read to discover how fun books really can be. There are all sorts of ways to get involved, from purchasing or gifting a book (see World Book Day’s handy 100 Stories to Share book recommendation tool for ideas), to writing a book review or hosting a virtual book club. If you’re looking to encourage a reluctant reader, try reading together for short periods – World Book Day has found that sharing stories for just ten minutes a day will encourage a love of reading.
To find out more about the event and how to get involved, visit World Book Day’s website.
Discover a new book series this World Book Day from Sweet Cherry Publishing.