In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, World Book Day is held annually on the first Thursday in March. Why is it so and not on April 23rd like most other countries? According to their official website The initiative is so well established in schools here that we want to make sure that the Day happens in term time to really make the most of this opportunity to celebrate books and reading. This year it will be next Thursday, 3rd March.
World Book Day UK began in 1998, launched by Prime Minster Tony Blair at The Globe Theatre in London.
Several million schoolchildren in Great Britain are given a £1 special World Book Day Book Token (€1.50 in Ireland) which can be redeemed against any book in any UK bookseller. A specially created WBD anthology priced at £1 (€1.50 in Ireland) has also been published. I believe we have a few of those books at our school library so you may want to give them a try ;)
The great success of this World Book Day has inspired a new event: World Book Night. 10,000 people are expected to attend "the biggest book give-away ever" at Trafalgar Square in London on March 4. That night organisers and volunteers will give away a million books for free.
Lots of authors are supporting this free event. Writers like Margaret Atwood, Mark Haddon and Nick Cave, to name just a few, will be reading from their favourite books.
Organisers say the Trafalgar Square event will be followed by hundreds of events around the UK on World Book Night itself, details of which can be found on its website.
Go here if you want to know the full list of titles to be given away.
Oh!
ReplyDeleteFor me reading is something wonderful. A great experience. You feel excited, sad, happy. Sometimes I finished reading books with tears in my eyes. I like to finish a book to know how it ends, but when I'm about to finish it, I don't want to continue. Finishing a book makes me feel sad, as if I were losing a friend.
There are three books I love.
Anna Frank's Diary.
The boy in striped pyjamas.
The Catcher in the Rye.