World Book Day

Students at Saint Rose of Lima School in Glasgow, Scotland, celebrate World Book Day. Research revealed on World Book Day (WBD) suggests that a quarter of eight to 11-year-olds would not own a book without the initiative.

WBD was founded in the UK by Baroness Gail Rebuck, who is also chair of Penguin Random House UK and founder of charity Quick Reads. She said: “In 1997 the level of children’s engagement with reading was at a point of national crisis. The previous year a government report had been released showing that 42% of 11-year-olds failed to achieve level 4 in reading and writing on entry to secondary school. We wanted to do something to reposition reading and our message is the same today as it was then – that reading is fun, relevant, accessible, exciting, and has the power to transform lives. I’ve seen first-hand how World Book Day has affected social change and long may it continue.”  Read more here.