World Book Day 2013

World Book Day 2013

In the UK 12 million adults find reading difficult and often, in fear would stray away from picking up a book. This is an issue that needs to be addressed in the early stages of one’s education. World Book Day, taking place on 7^th March invites children to come to school dressed as their favourite fictional character, receive a £1 or €1.50 token to exchange for a book and to enjoy reading wondrous adventures.

World Book Day not only aims to encourage children in the UK to pick up a book, it helps to raise money for Book Aid International. The charity sends half a million books each year to sub-Saharan Africa, where in some countries a school book can cost the equivalent of a month’s wages. These books are sent to communities, schools and academic libraries. With the help of World Book Day, Book Aid International can reach out to more children; for every £2 a school raises, one brand new book can be sent. Last year World Book Day raised £76,000 enabling Book Aid International to send 38,000 new books to sub-Saharan Africa.

Schools can raise money by hosting a fancy dress, dress down or non-school uniform day. Many schools encourage children to think of their favourite fictional character and come to school on World Book Day dressed as them. It is a great way to get children involved with the stories and enjoy the adventures that their favourite characters encounter. Last year Harry Potter and Hermione Granger costumes were popular among Where’s Wally and Dorothy outfits.

As well as encouraging children to dress as their chosen characters, a £1 or €1.50 token is also offered to all students. They can choose to spend it on one of the special World Book Day books or put it towards the cost of a normal book that has caught their attention.

£1 Books up for grabs

A fantastic 14 million tokens will be distributed this year and the choice of books children have is bigger and better than ever. Here are the titles available in exchange for a token:
·        Horrid Henry’s Guide to Perfect Parents by Francesca Simon
·    Alfie’s Shop by Shirley Hughes
·         Giraffes Can’t Dance Colouring and Puzzle Fun by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
·        Tony Robinson’s Weird World of Wonders: Funny Inventions by Tony Robinson and Del Thorpe
·     The Diamond Brothers in ... Two of Diamonds by Anthony Horowitz
·        Hang In there Bozo: the Ruby Redfort Emergency Survival Guide For Some Tricky Predicaments by Lauren Child
·        Tom Gates: Best Book Day Ever! (so far) by Liz Pichon
·        The Chocolate Box Girls: Bittersweet by Cathy Cassidy

Events such as World Book Day aim to encourage children to turn pages and discover fantastic stories that will live with them for a lifetime. Sparking enthusiasm for reading will help to fight against illiteracy, encourage children to challenge themselves and aid their education. There are many ways in which we can create this spark, dressing up as a character is such one of them.

http://www.allfancydress.com/

This article has been contributed by Steve John of AFD, a fancy dress retailer who stocks a variety of outfits for World Book Day.