World Book Day is an annual event celebrated worldwide to promote the importance of reading and encourage a love of books. World Book Day 2023 is being held on Thursday 2nd March. The day was first designated by UNESCO in 1995 and is observed in over 100 countries around the world.
On World Book Day, people are encouraged to read, especially children, and many schools and libraries organise special events such as book readings, author talks, and other book-related activities.
In the UK it is popular in primary schools for children to dress up as their favourite book characters. World Book Day is received with mixed emotions by parents as some feel the dressing up obligation for children is overwhelming and expensive. However, many parents love World Book Day and there are ways to come up with cheap and easy World Book Day costumes that don't break the bank.
Some schools organise second hand World Book Day costume sales which is a great way to reduce landfill, raise money for the PTA and help lower income families access costumes.
Some schools celebrate World Book Day on a different day to the official date so please check with your school what day they are celebrating.
It is also a day to celebrate the written word, literature, and the authors who create the stories that we love to read.
