Mission: To promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own.

Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.

Like Sweet Cherry, World Book Day aims to change lives by breaking down the barriers that get in the way of accessing books and giving every child an equal opportunity to have a book of their own. More than household income or parents’ education background, reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success.

When is World Book Day?

Over 100 countries around the world celebrate World Book Day on the first Thursday in March each year. Through free book tokens, book donations and a fun celebration of the joys and benefits of reading, World Book Day aims to improve lives and introduce children to a life-long habit of reading for pleasure.

On World Book Day in 2021, booksellers gave away over 2 million books across the exclusive line-up of 12 £1 books. For many children, this was the first book they had ever owned.

How to inspire children to read for pleasure:

• Read to a child for at least 10 minutes every day
• Build your own library at home
• Visit a bookshop and browse the shelves together
• Share and recommend books to children
• Make reading fun through interaction and
• Make time for reading

Where to get your World Book Day token:

Over 15 million National Book Tokens are distributed by nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools in partnership with publishers and booksellers. You can also sign up to receive a digital book token online here.

What can I spend my £1 book token on?

You can exchange your National Book Token for any £1 book on World Book Day. Check out the line-up here. You could also use your voucher to get £1 off any full-price book or audiobook at participating bookshops between Thursday 17 February and Sunday 27 March 2022. Unfortunately, you can’t spend your book token online.

How can I get involved in World Book Day?

There are an endless number of ways to have fun on World Book Day and help promote reading for pleasure. Some of them include buying or gifting a book, volunteering to read with a child, championing your favourite book or author on social media, donating or fundraising or joining in with a live event.

For more information, please visit the official World Book Day website here.