World Book Day

World Book Day® is a charity with the mission to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own. The charity distributes more than 15 million £1/€1.50 book tokens across the UK and Ireland each year. 1 in 4 children receiving Free School Meals say the book they 'bought' with their £1/€1.50 book token was the first book they had of their own.

The next World Book Day takes place in the UK and Ireland on Thursday 5th March 2026.

National Book Tokens are proud to sponsor World Book Day for 28 years. Our sponsorship helps the charity to encourage more children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to have a life-long habit of reading for pleasure, and the improved life chances this brings them. Research has found that 35% of children make more time to read as a result of World Book Day.

Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child's future success – more so than their family circumstances, their parents' educational background, or their income. But last year, fewer than 3 in 10 children said that they read daily.

As part of their fantastic 'Read Your Way' campaign, World Book Day encourages children to discover reading on their own terms, and adults to let go of pressure and expectations to give children a choice – and a chance – to enjoy reading. World Book Day supports children to read for pleasure by encouraging 6 behaviours:

1. Being read to regularly
2. Having books at home and school
3. Finding time to read
4. Having trusted help to find a book
5. Giving children a choice in what to read
6. Making reading FUN!

Find out more about the charity

_{Source: National Literacy Trust, Annual Literacy Survey 2024}