World Book Day is now almost upon us, with schools everywhere putting the finishing touches to their plans of events and activities to celebrate the art of reading, and literature as a whole.
It is one of my favourite days of the year, not only because I am a massive book nerd and geek, and not only because it encourages reading and emphasises its importance for all people, but also because of the fun things which take place throughout the day that I can get involved with, the events that I help run, and the £1 book tokens which are made available to all students so that anyone, no matter who they are, is able to get their hands on a book.
This year’s World Book Day will be unique in the sense that my school has chosen to tie it in with the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust. As part of the celebrations, and to remember those who died at the hands of the Nazis, all students and staff have been encouraged to read Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank’s poignant account of her time in the Secret Annex where she successfully hid from the Nazis for a period of just over two years.
Displays regarding the Holocaust, Anne Frank and her diary have already been put up, and it is my hope that many people will join in and read The Diary of a Young Girl in order to commemorate such a tragic and historic event.
I purchased my copy only a few days ago; disgracefully, I know very few details about the Holocaust itself, so through World Book Day and reading Anne Frank’s diary I hope to become more educated about it.
Of course, regular events will also be running alongside the Holocaust memorial activities.
A competition for National Book Tokens, a big book swap/sale, a teachers’ “Shelfie” competition, fun in-lesson activities such as quizzes… It’s certainly looking to be a great year for World Book Day fun!
In the past, a fictional character fashion show and even a book-themed game show have been organised – I myself hosted a version of the game show Pointless on World Book Day last year, pitting the four school houses against each other competing for house points. Consisting of three rounds of intense questions regarding children’s and teen/YA literature, it was a huge success and, though I have not arranged to do another show this year, a version of ITV’s The Chase is in the planning stages for charity events later in the year. (By the way: yes, I do realise the startling similarities between my school and Hogwarts. We even have house colours and ties, and the winning house at the end of the year does win the House Cup…!)
One of the most popular recurring ideas is for students and staff to dress up as literary characters on the day, and already costume ideas have begun flying around – I have my outfit all planned out, though I’m fairly sure dressing up as Hermione Granger for the second year running may be considered cheating…
This year’s theme is “Fantasy, Dystopian and Science Fiction” – I reckon I’ll fit into the ‘fantasy’ character very well! In the past I have seen some amazing and inventive costumes, ranging from modern favourites such as Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen to classic characters such as Bilbo Baggins and Tom Sawyer. Even some costumes inspired by the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Wizard of Oz have made their appearance in my school, and I’m sure that this year even more excellent and imaginative renditions will crop up in the hallways.
What sorts of events is your school hosting this year, and who are you planning to dress up as? Email us at childrens.books@theguardian.com, or message us on twitter (@GdnChildrensBks, and BritishBiblioholic directly, @thereaderrunt).
And don’t forget, we are calling for you to share your best costume ideas and how you made them – and the best costume idea will win £50 in National Book Tokens! Find out more here.
There are lots more fundraising ideas and educational resources for UK schools and libraries at bookaid.org/worldbookday.
