‘Read Your Way’ is the theme for this year’s World Book Day on March 6. The idea behind this theme is to encourage children to have the freedom to read in any way in which they choose, whether that be a traditional book, an e-book or an audio book, fiction or non-fiction, graphic novel or picture book – anything goes!
Often many children (and adults) can see reading as a chore. This possibly comes from the way in which they had to read at school – reading books that they maybe didn’t want to read, or didn’t find exciting or inspiring. It also could be as a result of extra reading challenges, such as being dyslexic, making reading that bit more difficult and possibly less accessible. Meaning that, for some children, their early reading experiences were not positive ones. Because of this, they may feel that in order to be a reader, they have to read in a certain way – but they don’t! Everyone should read in the way that works for them, that’s all that matters. So, the message for this year’s World Book Day is a really important one to get across to children – they need to know that they should be in charge of what and how they read.
As Elaina Ryan, CEO of Children’s Books Ireland, says: “World Book Day is about taking the pressure out of reading and rediscovering the pure fun of it!”
And, although it is a life skill, reading should be fun! After all, it is also a leisure pursuit, so it should be enjoyable. However, sometimes knowing what to read for fun can be tricky, and we have to remember that we’re all different, what one person enjoys another might not – with books one size definitely does not fit all!
However, there are plenty of ways to get into reading (or back into reading). The Children’s Books Ireland website is a great resource – you can look up books by age, category and genre, resulting in some excellent starting points. And, of course, there are also local libraries and bookshops. They are brilliant sources of books, and usually have staff with the expertise to get any child started on their reading journey.
So, this World Book Day it’s time to read your way!