World Book Day 2018!

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World Book Day 2018 is very near! This Thursday, 1st March marks the 22nd annual World Book Day.
I know you are all used to me going on about this for months ahead of time (well, it is my favourite day/week/month of the year) and may have noticed I have been noticeably quiet this year. Ordinarily I would have been pestering authors, illustrators and storytellers and packing the shop out with school classes to bring in as many local school children as I possibly could fit (my record is 690) to share the joy and excitement of books and reading and to try to make clear the difference that books can make in the lives of children of every age.
It is with sorrow that I tell you that due to circumstances, I will not be holding my World Book Day Extravaganza this year. I have a few events planned myself and will let you know what's happening. But I want to hear all about yours! What wonderful events do you have planned?
And let's not forget the fabulous World Book Day Books. Each year, the good World Book Day people contract with a variety of publishers to bring out a selection of 10 wonderful little books for children of all different ages that are available for FREE with a World Book Day book token (or...if your school didn't provide you with a token, £1 or €1.50 in Ireland.) In Ireland, we are especially lucky, because the O'Brien Press also produces a book especially for the occasion...so we have 11! The drive behind this is to make books available to all children in every school...to provide them with the opportunity to have their own book and THAT is a very powerful force in their lives. Just look at the selection to choose from:
The O'Brien Press has brought out an amazing read for World Book Day this year; Rugby Roar by Gerard Siggins. I've read it and it is fantastic.
As if that weren't enough, this year, World Book Day has made available a selection of books for young people (teen, YA). These are all full novels and only £2.50 (that's only £1.50 with your World Book Day token!) Amazing...and some of the best I've read!
Now, let's all remember how this works...your World Book Day tokens are ONLY valid from Monday 26 March (that's tomorrow) through  Sunday 25 March. You can use them for the World Book Day books (as above) or to receive £1 or €1.50 (depending on where you live) off of any other book you like...but only 1 token per book, please. (And a personal plea from me...please remember that the point here is to get kids reading and please use them for childrens'/teens'/YA books...please.)
For more terms, conditions, resources, information and just plain fun, the link for the World Book Day 2018 website is below. Now...get involved and get reading!
http://www.worldbookday.com/

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