World Book Day

As I’m sure you’re all aware World Book Day is nearly upon us. Dates vary in other countries but in 2011 here in the UK it will be celebrated on March the 3rd. For international information on World Book Day visit www.unesco.org.
It goes without saying that developing literacy skills and promoting an appreciation of the written word is something that needs attention all year around. Here at ELHQ we have developed a range of free downloadable literacy resources for this very purpose: www.earlylearninghq.org.uk/literacy. Nevertheless it’s really great that there is a particular day where we can celebrate the magic of books. It’s impossible to overstate the value of escaping in to a good book. It has the power to educate, inspire, comfort and explain. “Books say: she did this because. Life says: she did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t.” (Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes).

It’s worth remembering that World Book Day is not a government initiative but rather is the work of a registered charity and is reliant on private sponsorship to fund the estimated 13 million book tokens that will be distributed to schoolchildren.  By now all UK schools and registered pre-schools should have received their free School’s Pack together with the £1 Book Tokens.  Both the Sun and Times newspapers will also be issuing World Book Day vouchers in their newspapers with a limit of 1 voucher per child (they were printed on the 26th of Feb in the Times and will be printed on the 3rd of March in the Sun). These tokens can be redeemed up to and including the 27th March and a list of participating bookshops can be found here

The World Book Day website is full of useful information and free downloads, including:
–    Pre school resources
–    Primary School resources
–    Interactive games

There are also a whole host of other websites offering ideas and resources to celebrate this great event. Here are just a few:
www.activityvillage.co.uk
www.literacytrust.org.uk
www.booktime.org.uk
www.booktrustchildrensbooks.org.uk

To coincide with World Book Day the Guardian newspaper is launching a children-only website on March the 3rd. The content of the site will be determined by children from all parts of the world. It will feature 3 distinct reading areas – 7 and under, 8 to 12 and 13 plus. For more details visit guardian.co.uk/books.