World Book Day 3rd March 2022
Today is World Book Day. Already on my morning drive, I have seen a fantastic fox; a curious monkey; Matilda; a few dalmatians, and an assortment of tails and ears popping out from underneath coats and umbrellas!
According to the World Book Day website “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.”
Encouraging children to develop a love of reading is important to their development and gives them the skills to make sense of the world around them. World Book Day will bring much-needed joy to British children at a time when they may be worried about world events and in particular thinking of the children of Ukraine. Through reading, children can develop empathy, understanding, and find comfort.
According to the Literacy Trust (2019) one in four (27%) 11-year-olds in England left primary school not reading at the expected level, rising to 2 in 5 (42%) disadvantaged children. The impacts of the pandemic will have further impacted these literacy levels.
Although we didn’t have World Book Day when I was at my Primary School (it was created by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995) it was at school where my own love of reading began. We were very lucky to have a little reading nook under the stairs filled with bean bags, and lots of lovely books.
Sadly, not all children are as fortunate as I was. However, in Jersey and Guernsey, we do have the fantastic educational-based charity ‘Every Child Our Future’ (https://www.everychildourfutre.org/) which has a number of initiatives aimed at increasing children’s literacy levels on the Islands.
As a weekly volunteer, I love returning to the school environment and having the chance to share my love of books with two young readers. Often, they wisely choose books by the brilliant Roald Dahl…
“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives.”
Maybe the joy of World Book Day isn’t just for the children? As Adults maybe today we should also make a special effort to be ‘transported’ by reading our own favourite books?
This lovely illustration by Ana Jaren (recently shared by Susan Cain on LinkedIn) perfectly captures how I would love to spend some of my time today – reading and reflecting.