World Book Day 2023: What is World Book Day, when is it in 2023 and how to celebrate it

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World Book Day is fast approaching - here’s what it is, when it is and how you can celebrate

World Book Day 2023 is just around the corner with millions set to celebrate the day globally. This year marks the 28th year of World Book Day, which was initially introduced by UNESCO in 1995, although it was introduced in the UK and Ireland in 1997.

World Book Day is celebrated in over 100 countries, with millions of people including teachers, pupils and parents participating in the United Kingdom. One of the main aims of the day is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own

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According to Literacytrust.org, the age range with the most engaged readers was 8 to 11-year-olds, as 62.4 percent of children in this bracket said they enjoy reading. Around 48.1 percent of 14 to 16 year olds said the same.

Whilst World Book Day is primarily aimed at children, anyone can take part. Literacytrust says that ‘16.4 percent of adults in England, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having ‘very poor literacy skills.’ This means they can understand texts, but reading from ‘unfamiliar sources’ may cause trouble.

Here’s everything you need to know about World Book Day, including when it is, what the main goal of the day is and more.

When is World Book Day 2023?

In 2023, World Book Day is set to be celebrated globally on Thursday, March 2, a day earlier than last year.

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What is World Book Day?

According to the World Book Day official website: “World Book Day changes lives through a love of books and shared reading. Our mission is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own.

“Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income. We want to see more children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and the improved life chances this brings them.”

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Packs for primary school teachers, secondary school teacher, early years and more regarding how to celebrate World Book Day, and they can be downloaded as a PDF from the World Book Day website.

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