The 21st year of World Book Day on Thursday March 1 seems just designed for children, with the emphasis on 0-4 year olds. Its main aim this year in the UK is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. National Book Tokens Ltd, publishers and booksellers, have sponsored the gift of 15 million tokens that have been sent out to schools, county libraries and bookshops across the country. These tokens, valued £1 each, can be redeemed on behalf of young children against purchases of books for toddlers, to be selected from 10 new and completely free books, or indeed any book or audio book costing over £2.99 at a participating bookshop or book club (subject to certain conditions). One of the titles is the popular ‘Oi Frog’ by authors Kes Gray and Jim Field, available from the Rye Bookshop.
Some libraries and bookshops are holding special children’s events. For example, the Rye Bookshop has various activities for younger children going on throughout the day with story-time starting at at 2pm led by Camilla Staff, the manager. Then at 3:30pm older ones can join in a session such as ‘writing a letter to your friend’. There will be prizes for the best book-related fancy dress on show.
Rye Library will be getting the tokens but no events are planned on the day, due to shortage of staff. Paul McNicol, the Library Assistant, said that tokens could still be available for children who called into the library after the day itself, as long as stocks last. The library has recently received a large consignment of children’s board and picture books. These range improbably from adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Huckleberry Finn to titles like ‘The Jungle Book’, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and books by the Canadian author Jon Klaasen, who wrote the beautifully illustrated “The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse” among others.
World Book Day is designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.
Photo: Kenneth Bird