World Book Day sees children march into schools dressed as their favourite literary characters – from Harry Potter to the Hobbit.
Each year, schools in 100 countries all over the world take the time to encourage and celebrate the wonder of reading.
Kids are given tokens for £1 books and the school day may be focused on book-themed activities and lessons.
But when is World Book Day 2023, and what is the theme?
When is World Book Day?
World Book Day 2023 will take place on (Thursday, March 2).
The page-turning event is always held on the first Thursday of March in the UK.
Other countries around the world celebrate the day on different dates.
To mark the celebration of reading’s 25th year, the message for all children is ‘you are a reader’.
How and where to use the £1 book tokens
Every child under the age of 18 will be given a £1 book token to mark World Book Day.
The tokens will either be sent directly to your house, email, or distributed by your child’s school – you should contact the school to find out how you will receive it.
These £1 book tokens, from National Book Tokens Ltd, can be exchanged for a range of limited edition books written for the day, or used towards the cost of a full-price book.
You can then use the tokens are the following participating retailers:
- Your local independent bookseller
- Asda
- Blackwell’s (selected stores only)
- Morrisons
- Sainsburys
- Tesco
- The Works
- Waterstones
- WHSmith
You can find your closest participating store over on the World Book Day website.
The brand new 2023 line-up has 15 books* that can be bought for just £1 – these are also available in braille, and audio via the RNIB.
*Though not all books are available in every country.
What books are available for World Book Day 2023?
From Joe Wicks to Spider-Man, there’s a real mix of books on offer this year.
The books included in the World Book Day 2023 offerings are:
- Billy’s Bravery by Tom Percival
- Bedtime for the Burpee Bears by Joe Wicks
- Lifesize Creepy Crawlies by Sophy Henn
- You Choose your Adventure by Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt
- Dave Pigeon: Bookshop Mayhem by Swapna Haddow
- Marvel Spider-Man the Amazing Pocket Guide by Catherine Saunders
- The Boy with Wings: Attack of the Rampaging Robot by Lenny Henry
- A Dragon Realm Adventure by Katie and Kevin Tsang
- The Strangeworlds Travel Agency: Adventure in the Floating Mountains by L.D. Lapinski
- Kay’s Brilliant Brains by Adam Kay
- Boot it! by A.M. Dassu
- Being an Ally: Real Talk about Showing Up, Screwing Up and Trying Again by Shakirah Bourne and Dana Alison Levy
For young readers in Ireland, they also have the option of
- Hazel Tree Farm: One Stormy Night by Alma Jordan
- Rita agus an Dragun by Maire Zepf and Mr Ando
Welsh readers also have the exclusive option of Gwisg Ffansi Cyw by Anni Llyn.
To find out more about the book titles and which age groups they are suitable for, you can check out further information online.
How can you get involved with World Book Day?
As well as in-school activities, World Book Day online events have been running on their official YouTube channel.
For more details, visit the World Book Day events page.
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