Look for a book in Doncaster this World Book Day

Research from the National Literacy Trust shows that one in ten children from Yorkshire and the Humber do not own a book at home.

To combat this Doncaster Stories has planned an exciting and interactive schedule of activity to put books in the hands of over 1,000 local children and young adults, making sure no child is left out of the World Book Day celebrations.

Volunteer Literacy Champions will be helping Doncaster Stories by hiding books in parks and other public places.

The campaign will be sharing mystery locations on its Facebook page throughout the day, and children will be invited to get outdoors after school to try and find their very own book.

Local rugby club, Doncaster Knights, will also be distributing book hampers to local schools, and recording a video for Doncaster Stories Facebook Page, in which the team will be reading Burpee Bears, by Joe Wicks, one of the books available to buy with the World Book Day £1 book token.

Local sports stars aren’t the only heroes getting involved with Doncaster Stories World Book Day celebrations, as nurses from Doncaster Royal Infirmary will be reading extracts from Adam Kay’s non-fiction children’s book, Kay’s Anatomy, to be shared on Facebook, challenging children to work out if the facts they are sharing are true… or poo!

Philip Sheppard, Hub Manager at Doncaster Stories, says, “Every child should be able to choose their free World Book Day book but not every family has access to a bookshop, so we hope our school visits, social media, and city-wide activity helps everyone to receive a book of their own.

"It’s fantastic to see people from right across the community coming together to share their love of stories, and encourage children and young people from Doncaster to pick up a book. A true enjoyment of reading can help children perform better in school, ultimately opening them up to a wider range of job opportunities.”

Philip is also a children’s author and illustrator and will be visiting a handful of local schools to host a draw-a-long, teaching children how to draw their favourite characters, share some of his favourite stories and encourage children to tell their own.

This year, the National Literacy Trust has partnered with World Book Day in support of their goal to provide every child or young person with a book of their own. The National Literacy Trust works with families from disadvantaged areas on World Book Day and every other day, 365 days a year, for 30 years.

Doncaster Stories is a local campaign led by the National Literacy Trust, to help improve literacy levels across Doncaster. The campaign works with community organisations to promote reading for enjoyment amongst local children and young adults. If you would like to find out more about the campaign, please visit www.doncasterstories.org, or if you would like to get involved and volunteer,

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