Author: Lindsay Robinson
Lindsay has been a primary school teacher for 23 years and is passionate about achieving the very best outcomes for children through quality first teaching and experiences.
Reading has always been very important to me so as a teacher, I really try to pass on my love of reading to the children in the hope that it will become the most wonderful life-long habit for them as it is
for me. Of course, we all know that reading makes a huge difference to a child’s educational performance, but for me, it is about much more than that. Having a good book on the go can brighten the darkest day; it can reduce stress and improve sleep; it improves our vocabulary leading to improved social and communication skills; it develops our understanding of different cultures; and certainly improves our emotional intelligence and levels of empathy as we understand a range of perspectives and motivations. Therefore, this year on 6th March, let’s encourage children to ‘Read your Way, this World Book Day’ and get them involved in some fun activities to help them to understand that reading for pleasure really does change lives.
Reading Buddies
One of my favourite activities on World Book Day (and any day!) is to match the classes up across school and pair each child with another child from a different year group. This can be as simple as pairing children up in the classroom and letting them share books of their choice, or a reading room could be set up with bean bags, dens, cosy tents, cushions and calming background music that the classes visit: this encourages the connection of reading with feeling safe, comforted and part of a community. Unfortunately, many children see reading as something they have to do rather than something they choose to do so this is a great activity as it’s a low-stakes: they get to choose the books, they get to talk about why they like them so it makes reading feel like a fun, entertaining and social thing to do. Also, it’s wonderful to give children the opportunity to get trusted help from an older child to make choices when choosing books and authors that they may enjoy.
EYFS and KS1
Julia Donaldson’s books are perfect for EYFS and KS1 because of their song-like rhyming patterns, repetitive language, fun characters, and moral messages. Immerse your class in the stories of Julia Donaldson this This World Book Day with these fun, engaging activities:
Stickman
“I’m Stickman, I’m Stickman,
I’M STICKMAN, that’s me,
And I want to go home to the
family tree!”
Poor Stickman has lost his family! Take the children outside to search for them. Allow the children to collect sticks, discussing size and shape. Bring the chosen sticks back into the classroom. Provide
the children with craft materials and glue. Can the children decorate them to create Stickman’s family?
The Gruffalo
Once Stickman has his family back, why not invite them to a party? And what could they eat at the party? Well Gruffalo Crumble of course! This is a great food technology activity as the children cut soft berries and mix with bitesize pre-cut chunks of apple but could also incorporate maths with older children as they could weigh and mix the ingredients for the crumble. The crumbles could be cooked in school, or even taken home to be cooked in a disposable foil tray.
Travelling Tales – Stick Man from Hope Education
The Gruffalo – A Noisy Storybook
Travelling Tales – The Gruffalo from Hope Education
KS2
When it comes to KS2 (and particularly Upper KS2) one of my favourite authors to introduce children to is Michael Morpurgo. Morpurgo says, ‘They must live with both the sadness and gladness of life…the more you read about it, the more you understand that other people go through this, and the more you don’t feel so sad about the world around you.’ * Michael Morpurgo’s books don’t shy away strong themes and they help children to understand them and develop empathy. They are also filled with adventure and excitement; other cultures and other times. They open the door to a world of wonder for children! Morpurgo writes a lot about human connection to animals, which is really engaging for children. Weaved into some dark themes of war or grief, is always a strong sense of joy for the simple things in life such as our families, friends, pets and nature. Michael Morpurgo has written over 150 children’s books so once you’ve got them hooked, they’ve got plenty to choose from!
On World Book Day, it’s a great idea to simply introduce children to a range of his books: read the blurbs; listen to extracts; ask the children who’ve read some already to provide recommendations. Ask them to put little book recommendation tags into the books they’ve read in the class library – this always creates a real buzz about reading! I like to hand out a selection from our class library and simply let the children engage with them. A lovely (and again, low-stakes) activity is to get the children to recreate one of Michael Morpurgo’s book covers. This makes a great display with photographs or self-portraits of the children but it also encourages the children to borrow that book to read at home or in class.
Reading Challenge
World Book Day is all about encouraging reading for pleasure so a whole-school challenge can certainly help to inject a bit of fun into reading! Provide the children with a reading passport with challenges that they can tick off. For example, read to a pet, read a recipe, read at the library. Children who complete their cards could enter a prize draw for a book.
Worryingly, figures from The National Literacy Trust’s Annual Literacy Survey for 2025 reveal alarming figures, with one in three children and young people reporting that they do not enjoy reading. Only 35% of 8-18-year-olds say they enjoy reading in their spare time, ** marking the lowest enjoyment rate since the survey began in 2005. Therefore, it’s imperative that we help children to see the joy in reading. However you celebrate it, World Book Day is simply a wonderful day to bring your school community together and encourage an intrinsic love of reading for pleasure. Happy reading!
Sources: * The I Paper – Michael Morpurgo Interview
** https://literacytrust.org.uk/events/annual-literacy-survey-2025/
Lindsay Robinson has been a primary school teacher for 23 years and is passionate about achieving the very best outcomes for children through quality first teaching and experiences. She strives to make her classroom a nurturing and caring environment. As an author for Hope Education, Lindsay enjoys drawing upon her own experiences in the classroom to support and encourage other teachers in their own classrooms.
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