What is World Book Day?
World Book Day is a day all about celebrating books!
It takes place every year in March in the UK.
Many children spend the day reading, talking about the books and dressing up as characters from their favourite stories.
Lots of schools and authors like to get involved too by sharing their love of books and taking part in book-related activities.
Watch – Read a book!
Reading a book can open a whole new world of adventure and excitement.
Watch this video to learn more about why books are so amazing!
Join Lucy and Kevin as they open their books and journey in search of Treasure Island.
LUCY: My friend Kevin loves reading.
Kevin!
KEVIN: Just a second.
LUCY: See what I mean? And one day he showed me why.
I just asked him – what are you reading?
KEVIN: Treasure Island. It's brilliant!
It's all about a boy called Jim Hawkins who finds a treasure map, a proper one with an X and everything.
He shows it to some grown-ups, and they go off on a big adventure to find gold and jewels.
But guess what?
LUCY: What?
KEVIN: It turns out that the sailors on the ship are all pirates. And the ship's cook is the sneakiest pirate of all. Long John Silver!
LUCY: What happens next?
KEVIN: I don't know. That's as far as I've got.
LUCY: It was too much. I had to know.
I went to the library and got my own copy.
TOGETHER: We couldn’t put it down!
LUCY: On Saturday, Kevin came round to my house and we dressed up as Treasure Island characters.
We made hats from cardboard and a treasure chest from a box, and used old clothes as the pirate costumes.
When we got to the playground, I was Jim Hawkins and Kevin was Long John Silver.
We made whole new stories.
KEVIN: Jim Hawkins, look here. I can see some treasure off the starboard bow.
LUCY: Looks like it's time for a whole new adventure.
TOGETHER: What are you reading?
English
There are two different types of books:
- fiction
- non-fiction
Both types of books can be celebrated on World Book Day.
Learn more with the information and activities below.
Fiction
Fiction books are ones which have been made up from a writer’s imagination.
There are different types or genres of fiction, such as fairy tales, adventure stories, mysteries and science fiction (also known as 'sci-fi').
An example of a fiction book is Michael the Amazing Mind-Reading Sausage Dog, written by Terrie Chilvers and illustrated by Tim Budgen.
Non-fiction
Non-fiction books are about real life and give us facts.
There are many different types of non-fiction writing. These include biographies, information books or even newspapers.
An example of a non-fiction book is Am I Made of Stardust?, written by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and illustrated by Chelen Ecija.
Writing a story
Before an author writes a story, they plan what is going to happen. A plan is a useful tool to make sure you stay on track when you are writing. The main things you need to think about are: characters, setting and plot.
Take a look at this slideshow to learn more.
Image caption, Characters
Think about who your characters are. What do they look like? What are their personalities like? It can be helpful to decide what motivates your characters and what their relationships are like with each other.
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Activity - Write your own story
Have a go at planning and then writing your own story.
You could write an exciting adventure, a magical fairy tale or thrilling mystery.
Who will be your main character? Maybe a friend or even a pet!
What are prequels and sequels?
Some authors write prequels or sequels to their original work.
A prequel is a story set before the original story and a sequel is set some time after.
Authors can decide to have the same characters and a different plot or new ones.
Can you think of a prequel and sequel idea for Little Red Riding Hood?
Prequel
Wolf's start to life was unusual and full of adventure. He ran away from a wolf orphanage and ended up making some strange friends along the way who looked after him. However, did these friends lead him down the right path?
Sequel
Granny and Red write a famous book of their adventures, but they tell their story in a way that makes them the heroes, not the woodcutter.
When the woodcutter finds out he is furious and seeks revenge! However, who is telling the truth?
Discover more on KS2 English
Have a look at these articles to practise your writing skills and make your stories even better!
How to plan your story
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What is a setting?
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How to invent a new character
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Art and Design
Comics are a type of book that often use funny and colourful illustrations with some writing to tell the story.
Take a look at the information, videos and activities below to learn more.
Comics
A comic combines words and pictures in a sequence to tell a story or share information.
The name ‘comic’ comes from the word 'comical', which means funny.
Today, comics can be about anything and don’t have to be funny.
Watch - How to create a comic
Join Mike and Craig from Beano to learn how to create and structure a comic story.
Mike: Hi, my name's Mike. I'm the Director of Mischief at Beano. (trumpet sounding)
This is Craig. He's a writer at Beano.
Craig: Hello. (trumpet sounding)
Mike: Craig can make characters say or do anything he wants and I love to eat my own bogies.
(Craig laughing)
Mike: Craig, did you write my script for this too?
Craig: Yes, I did.
Mike: Writing a story is a bit like climbing a mountain.
At the beginning we introduce characters and location, but you also need an exciting start to catch the reader's attention.
Craig: Remember to keep the first sentence short.
Mike: Now we're on our way up the hill.
We're in the middle of the story.
As we are climbing, something happens to the character.
What do you want to happen to your character?
Craig: Have they had an accident, encountered a villain?
Mike: Now we're at the top of the hill.
The top of the peak where I am is a dramatic event for the character to overcome.
Now we have to find our way down the hill.
This is where we look for our solution.
As we approach the bottom of the hill, what type of ending do we hope to find?
Craig: Happy, sad, twist, mysterious…
Mike: or even… cliff hanger!
Craig: We call this a three act structure because it has three stages.
Mike: Once you know what's going to happen to your characters, you need to add words.
Craig: In the comic world we do this with speech balloons…
Mike: Like this one!
You can also use thought balloons to show what a character's thinking, like this.
See, Craig doesn't know what I'm thinking.
Another way of writing your story in comics is to use something called the editor's caption.
Craig: These are text boxes that the storyteller, that's you, puts into the story to introduce new scenes.
Mike: Here's an example of an editor's caption, and we usually put a dot, dot, dot after it because that keeps the story moving.
Craig: That's called an ellipsis, you know?
Mike: Right! Using an ellipsis lets a reader know there's more to come.
So now you've written your story here are some tips to make your writing more interesting for the reader.
Craig: If you notice that someone speaks with a… lot… of… pauses, you can add ellipses into their speech.
Mike: Or if you notice somebody speaks really, really fast you can try running their words into each other.
The other smart thing you can do in comics is show the difference between what a character says and the way that they feel.
Craig: You can have a speech balloon saying one thing and a thought balloon thinking the opposite.
Mike: There's another clever way you can make your writing more interesting for the reader.
You can bring it to life using similes and metaphors.
Computer voice: Simile, when you describe something by comparing it to something else.
Craig: For example, Gnasher has fur like barbed wire.
Mike: And what about metaphors?
Computer voice: Metaphor, when you describe something by calling it something else.
Craig: For instance, Dennis has a thorny bush on his head.
Mike: But he doesn't actually have a thorny bush on his head. That's just a metaphor.
It's time for you to write your own comic.
Try to fit your story onto one side of paper and split it into eight panels.
That's plenty of space to tell a great story.
Craig: In comics, each panel is an important moment in your story.
Mike: But keep some panels without any words at all.
Not everyone talks all the time you know.
Now you know how to create comic stories.
Start using the story mountain.
Using speech balloons, thought balloons, and editor's captions, try turning your story into words.
Then use the language tools we've given you to make your story more interesting for the reader.
And finally, turn it all into a comic book using panels.
Activity - Create a comic strip
Comic books usually feature lots of adventures and superheroes!
Have a go at creating your own comic strip or print off the template to help you get started.
Comic strip template
Topic packs
Discover more on KS2 Art and Design
Have a look at these articles to learn about more about comics and other artistic styles.
What is a comic?
KS2 Art and Design
What is Surrealism?
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What is Islamic art?
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Play - Crystal Explorers
Join the Crystal Explorers and use your knowledge of grammar, punctuation and spelling to solve the fiendish puzzles, in this fun KS2 English game!
Crystal Explorers. game
KS2 English game
More resources from the BBC
You can find many more amazing resources from around the BBC.
Follow the links below for more ideas on World Book Day.
Blue Peter Book Club
Blue Peter
World Book Day Live Lessons
Bitesize for Teachers
Where next?
Bitesize Primary games. game
Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.
More on Creative writing
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