The World Book Day 2023 books and activities we’re getting excited about 

Are you looking forward to World Book Day 2023? We certainly are! There’s something so special about children and adults celebrating and talking about their favourite books. The book character costumes and book-themed activities are a lot of fun too!

This year’s World Book Day is taking place on Thursday 2^nd March and the official website is jam-packed with ideas to keep you busy from now until the big day. We thought it would be fun to share some of our highlights with you too.

Get reading with our pick of the World Book Day £1 books

Every year World Book Day commissions a team of brilliant children’s authors to write a collection of exclusive books published especially to celebrate World Book Day. Each book in the collection costs just £1 – and if you have a World Book Day £1 book token, distributed via schools and nurseries across the UK, you can pick up a World Book Day book for free!

It’s such a fantastic enterprise, getting new and exciting books into the hands of so many children. The impact will be felt long past 2^nd March as these titles can be re-read, passed on and enjoyed by so many children at home and in libraries.

The main problem we always have is deciding which of the World Book Day books for 2023 to buy!

We thought it might be useful to share our top fiction picks, in case you also struggle to decide which to go for… 

Looking for a book filled with silliness, fun and laughter?

Choose Dave Pigeon: Bookshop Mayhem by Swapna Haddow and illustrated by Sheena Dempsey. You’ll be instantly won-over by Dave and his side-kick Skipper in this amazing, animal romp suitable for age 5+. 

Looking for a breath-taking adventure story?

Choose A Dragon Realm Adventure by Katie and Kevin Tsang. 12-year-old Billy Chan and his friends each have a special bond with a dragon. When a lost dragon egg threatens them all, they must work together to find it. This book would be perfect for readers aged 8+. 

Looking for a thought-provoking, contemporary tale?

Choose Boot It! By A. M. Dassau, author of Boy, Everywhere. Sami and Ali dream of playing on the school football team. But when they’re made to feel unwelcome by other players because of the  colour of their skin, how can they tackle it? This powerful story of friendship and racism would be ideal for readers aged 10+

And even though our focus is on readers aged 5+ we wanted to give a special shout-out to You Choose Your Adventure by Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt. It’s a fantastic celebration of imagination - encouraging children to create their own story and talk about the book as it unfolds.

More fun and games for World Book Day…

World Book Day are putting together a series of digital events featuring some of these brilliant authors and illustrators that we can all join in with from home or school.

There’s also an amazing How to Train Your Dragon competition to enter. The grand prize is a 3-day trip to a German theme-park featuring an entire land inspired by Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon.  

We also love the selection of free audiobooks that are available to listen to via the World Book Day website. Reading doesn’t have to always be about words on a page – there are some fantastic stories to get lost in on there! Our top recommendations would be Baby Aliens Got My Teacher, Hedgewitch, My Brother is a Superhero, The Lightning Catcher and The Ship of Doom.

 

Are you dressing up for World Book Day this year? Stuck for ideas? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Join our email list and we’ll send you an exclusive download with 40+ easy World Book Day costume ideas.

We’ve brought together some brilliantly bookish activities in our One-Stop Guide to Celebrating World Book Day!