It was World Book Day recently , a day which does not figure much in the consciousness of anyone except the over-worked librarians of secondary schools.

Ideally, it should be a day in which people all over the world come together to celebrate the “uniquely portable magic” of books. It should be a day filled with competitions and conversations and reading and recommendations. On that day, everyone should be talking about books – what they look for in a book, what their favourite book is, et cetera.

In actuality, it is a much less notable affair. Across the UK, at least, it passes mostly unremarked, save in bookshops and schools. Children are given book tokens (redeemable for special World Book Day books, some of which are kind of awesome – I have a copy of Cloud Wolf, purchased with such a token), and some schools have fancy dress days: come as your favourite book character, or as any character by a particular author. Continue reading “World Book Day and Reading Aloud” →