Today we are very excited to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of World Book Day, the biggest annual celebration of reading for children. This year we teamed up with World Book Day and invited schools to take our creative challenge for the chance to win £5000 of books for their school, inspired by A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston.
The first prize of £5,000 worth of books was awarded to Cherry Burton Primary School in East Yorkshire for their ‘Old Curiosity Shop’ entry (see photos below). The prize was “a dream come true” for them after three years of struggling to raise funds for a library. They responded with a whole school project which transformed their summer playhouse into an ‘Old Curiosity Shop’, inspired by the classic novel by Charles Dickens. Designed to convey the “individual experience” of reading, the shop was filled with displays and crafts made by the children, sparked by their favourite books. The massive influx of £5,000 worth of new children’s books provides fresh hope to a school that has spent the last three years struggling to fundraise to expand their collection of books from just one bookshelf into a fully-fledged library.
A further three schools were awarded the second prize (£3,000 worth of books), and an additional 10 schools awarded the third prize (£1,000 worth of books). Each winner, plus 100 runners-up, will also receive a signed copy of A Child of Books, plus a limited edition print for their school. Visit www.worldbookday.com to see this year’s entries.
Speaking on the judging process, Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston said: “It was incredibly difficult to choose between all of the fantastic responses we received. Each entry was clearly crafted with passion and imagination, and we loved seeing the types of stories that are engaging children today. The joy of stories was evident in Cherry Burton School’s outstanding project – their infectious enthusiasm for reading inspired not just pupils, teachers and parents, but also their local community.”
Why is World Book Day so important?
World Book Day in the UK and Ireland encourages children to explore the pleasures of reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. New data from a survey conducted by the National Literacy Trust has just revealed that a quarter of the UK’s 8 to 11 year-old children would not own a book without World Book Day, and that the book they ‘bought’ with their 2016 World Book Day book token was the first book they have had of their own. The survey also showed that nine out of ten (89.5%) were aware of World Book Day and six in ten (58.8%) were inspired to read more by the celebration of books and reading.
This year 15 million £1 World Book Day book tokens were distributed via schools and nurseries all over the country to be exchanged for one of ten specially-published £1 World Book Day books. Check the World Book Day website for the full list of books, including our very own Where’s Wally? The Fantastic Journey by Martin Handford!
Enter a world of imagination and discover more about A Child of Books with Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston: