World Book Day 2026
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World Book Day is one of the most exciting days of the year for book lovers, and thois annual celebration of books and reading is back for 2026!
The date for World Book Day in 2026 has been announced as Thursday 5th March 2026.
As always, the day will consist of all sorts of book fun and activities, and children will be asked to come to school dressed up as their favourite characters from a book.
The aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children, young people and people pf any age toto explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing every primary age child with the opportunity to have a book of their own.
Each year, a collection of special books is published priced at just £1. This is to encourage children of all ages to get reading and have a book of their own.
Every child in a primary school across the UK are then given a £1 or (€1.5 in Ireland) book voucher to buy one of the specially produced books, or to put towards the cost of any other book. Home educated kids can join in too.
Each year a book is also published in the Irish and Welsh languages. These are usually only available to buy in Wales and Ireland respectively.
From major supermarkets in the UK, large bookshop chains and hundreds of independent booksellers, anywhere you can buy books could be joining in, so check out your local bookshop to see of you can use your voucher there.
The World Book Day £1 Books for 2026
The World Book Day books are usually announced in February, so keep an eye out on the World Book Day Website and social media to find out what this years books will be!
How Is World Book Day Celebrated?
Most schools in the UK take part by holding lots of book-themed activities and by encourage children to dress up as characters from their favourite book.
Here are some easy World Book Day costume ideas for costumes that you can put together from clothes your kids may already have, and items you can find around the house.
World Book Day was created to encourage children all around the world to get reading. The campaign has expanded it's reach in recent years from it's focus on younger children to include young adults and adults who struggle with literacy issues.