Reading as a hobby is at its lowest for children in 18 years. In 2022, just 47.8% of people from the ages of 8 – 18 said that they enjoyed reading. Every year, World Book Day is held in the UK on the first Thursday of March. This charity aims for children from all backgrounds to gain an enjoyment for reading, and ‘benefit from the improved life chances this brings them’. This refers to the proven theory that reading for fun as a child is the greatest measure of a child’s success in the future, more than parent’s education or family income.

This year’s theme was ‘Read Your Way’. It was aimed to encourage children to reject societal expectations and have the freedom to enjoy whichever book they choose to read, as children are more likely to read when their choices are endorsed. Although some think that children cannot be affected by expectations or pressure from those around them, World Book Day conducted a study in 2023 in which 34% of children saying they weren’t allowed to choose what to read at home or at school, and that their parents wouldn’t approve of the books they actually want to read.

 Pressure on their reading choices doesn’t just come from adults, however, it can also come from fellow students. 1 in 5 children said they felt judged by their peers on what they read at school, which discouraged them to read. One of the students involved in the study, a 13-year-old boy, stated ‘There’s no really no point in reading; I was really bad in primary school, I couldn’t do anything the teacher said’, proving the impact that other people have on our reading habits from an early age.

At least 1 million children in the UK do not own a book, which makes it especially significant that World Book Day gives out tens of millions of £1 book tokens each year. These tokens give children the option of buying from a carefully curated selection of 15 books, aimed at ages 3-9. Last year, a total of 50 million book tokens were given out through various different schemes, such as school magazines and McDonald’s Happy Meals. In 2023, about 20% of schoolchildren said that they had bought their first book with this token, showing the astounding difference that this annual literary celebration is making.