Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, supports World Book Day today (7th March 2024).
World Book Day was created by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. The mission is to promote reading for pleasure, and offer every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own
According to World Book Day, reading is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income. Up to 500,000 children (1 in 15) in the UK don’t have a book of their own and 1 in 5 pupils said the book they ‘bought’ with their World Book Day book token had been their first book of their own.
Every year, World Book Day in the UK and Ireland offers £1 books for children and young adults, to make reading as accessible as possible for young people. Each child in Wealden will be given a £1 book token, which they can take to shops and supermarkets and choose a free book.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Having the best start in life is not only about learning, but also about imagination. World Book Day has shown that reading for pleasure is key to children’s wellbeing and growth, and I am pleased that this campaign continues to give an opportunity for every child in Wealden to own their own book. We have a rich history of authors and literature in the area, from Sherlock Holmes’ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the beloved Winnie the Pooh, and I hope that World Book Day will inspire readers to delve back into these excellent classics.”
