From Harry Potter to The Gruffalo, some of our most treasured stories come from books
World Book Day 2022 will be the 25th edition of the event in the UK (image: Adobe)
From Harry Potter to Gangsta Granny, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to The Gruffalo, some of the most enduring stories in our culture come from children’s books.
But getting kids into reading when there is competing entertainment out there, like Fortnite, Twitch and TikTok, isn’t always an easy task.
It’s part of the reason why World Book Day is so important here in the UK, because it offers children the chance to find books in their own way.
So when exactly is World Book Day 2022 – and what kind of things will be taking place?
Here’s everything you need to know.
What is World Book Day?
World Book Day is an initiative aimed at promoting a love of books and reading for pleasure among young people.
Set up by United Nations culture agency Unesco in 1995, it first reached the UK in 1997 – making this year’s edition the 25th to be held here.
Here in the UK, 15 million book tokens are given to children under the age of 18 through their school or nursery.
These can be redeemed at most bookshops for any one of around a dozen titles that are put on sale specifically for World Book Day (see more on this below).
Or they can be used to get £1 off a book or audiobook.
It is part of an attempt to get everyone into reading, regardless of their background or family’s financial status.
World Book Day aims to encourage children and their parents to spend 10 minutes a day either reading, or sharing stories with each other.
The organisation says this can aid a child’s future success, as studies have shown reading not only improves a kid’s vocabulary and test scores in English, but can also be good for their mental wellbeing.
As well as providing the gift of reading, World Book Day also puts on events you can tune into.
When is World Book Day 2022?
World Book Day 2022 is set to take place on Thursday 3 March 2022.
However, World Book Day book tokens will be valid at participating retailers between Thursday 17 February and Sunday 27 March.
Which books are being launched for World Book Day 2022?
Each year sees a number of one-off books released by top authors.
These can be redeemed with a book token or, if your child wants more than one, are all priced at £1.
- ‘Rocket Rules: Ten Little Ways to Think Big!’ – Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola
- ‘Dinosaur Roar and Friends!’ – Peter Curtis and Jeanne Willis
- ‘Hey Duggee: The World Book Day Badge’ – Studio AKA
- ‘Grimwood: Five Freakishly Funny Fables’ – Nadia Shireen
- ‘Jemima the Pig and the 127 Acorns’ – Michael Morpurgo and Guy Parker-Rees
- ‘My Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Silly Book of True or False’ – Matt Lucas and Sarah Horne
- ‘The Worst Class in the World in Danger!’ – Joanna Nadin and Rikin Parekh
- ‘PEAK PERIL: A High-rise Mystery’ – Sharna Jackson
- ‘The Wizard and Me: More Misadventures of Bubbles the Guinea Pig’ – Simon Farnaby and Claire Powell
- ‘Think Like a Boss: Discover the skills that turn great ideas into CASH’ – Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Adam Hayes
- ‘The Last Word’ – Ben Bailey Smith
- ‘Boy, Missing’ – Sophie McKenzie
- ‘Deadly! Irish History: Fun with the Celts and the Vikings!’ – John Farrelly
- ‘Cluasa Capaill ar an Rí’ – Bridget Bhreathnach and Shona Shirley Macdonald
World Book Day costumes
Many UK schools mark World Book Day by allowing pupils to come in wearing book-themed fancy dress.
Here are some simple costume ideas you can improvise at home:
- Gangsta Granny – David Walliams has become a bestseller off the back of this fun character. All you need is a blouse, a cardigan and a grey wig (or some grey hair dye) to turn your child into an improvised Gangsta Nan
- Harry Potter or Hermione Granger – Handily, J.K. Rowling’s prospective wizards all wear standard school uniforms. So you just need a tie and a stick for a wand (and some glasses and a lightning bolt scar if you’re going for Harry Potter)
- Long John Silver – Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island’ character offers the excuse for you to dress your kid as a pirate. All you need is a white shirt, black trousers and a painted-on beard to get the look going. You can make an eye patch out of cardboard and string. And if buying a hat seems a bit much, find some material you can turn into a bandana
- Peter Pan or Wendy – Peter Pan needs an oversized green polo top and a pair of tights (preferably green). You can fashion a cone hat out of card and colour or paint it green. For Wendy, you just need to put your child in their sunday best and give them a ribbon hair tie
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