Where does reading take you? Answer that question imaginatively enough and you could be in with a chance of winning your school library a whopping £10,000 library makeover, as well as £10,000 worth of new books. There will also be a runner-up prize of £5000 of books, and three third-place prizes of £3000. So if you want the chance to revamp your school’s library, this is the competition for you!
It’s the World Book Day award and schools across the country can enter the competition, which is now in its second year. The winner of the inaugural award was Hexthorpe Primary School in Doncaster, which won with a song written and sung by a year five class complete with its own stop-motion animation, also made by the class.
Alongside sponsorship from Bookspace, which donates the library equipment, the award is funded by bestselling author James Patterson and he will help judge this year’s entries. He says, “I was so impressed by the brilliant response to the first World Book Day award – all the entries really showcased a love for books and reading among kids and their teachers. I hope this year the creativity keeps on coming and that the entries help to remind everyone of the importance of school libraries, and of a kid’s right to have access to books. Reading is a vital life skill and it is important we encourage a love of reading in kids from a young age.”
Children’s laureate Chris Riddell will be judging the entries alongside Patterson. He says: “I love libraries and librarians, especially librarians who have played an important role in my life. School librarians create the readers of the future and need all the support we can give them.”
Entries can be done individually or by a group, and there can only be one entry per school. However, there are no limits to how you respond - whether it’s in writing, artwork, photography or even film, you have the freedom to express yourself however you see fit! Entries must be submitted by 1 December, and the winners of the award will be announced on World Book Day, which is 3 March. Entries can be submitted online at www.worldbookday.com/wobod
World Book Day, first celebrated in 1995, is the biggest yearly celebration of books in the UK. For more information, you can visit their site here.
