World Book Day 2025

World Book Day® 2025 is nearly upon us (Thursday 6th March) and I have been finding out about their mission, how the books are chosen and the day itself.

The charity World Book Day aims to encourage a lifelong love and habit of reading for fun amongst children. Over 32 million £1 tokens are distributed across the UK and Ireland every year, designed to give children the experience of choosing and buying a book themselves.

So, how are the books are chosen? Publishers pitch their £1 book ideas to the World Book Day Selection Panel made up of children. The submissions are discussed with the charity World Book Day who make the final choice. Publishers then produce and pay for the costs of the books and Bookshops buy the books for stock.

The books are a gift to children from booksellers and publishers. The World Book Day tokens are distributed to children at exchange hubs, including schools, nurseries, and libraries, where children can collect these tokens for FREE. The tokens are then exchanged by the children for a World Book Day £1 book for the child to then own. Each year’s selection includes a range of books for Beginner, Early, Independent, and Fluent readers. There is something for everyone to find the fun in reading this World Book Day!

The beginner books are aimed at nursery and reception age groups. There are four to choose from, featuring favourite characters for younger children at the beginning of their reading journey. The books have been carefully selected and each one is filled with amazing illustrations and has an uplifting story perfect to read together any time of the day.

The Early Years books are a little different, including a variety of well-loved characters of  Paddington and Pokémon, to poems by the former Children’s laureate Joseph Coelho. I asked my son for his thoughts on the Pokémon book and he felt it was 'everything you need to know about Pokémon, great for experienced and new players'. I have had a read through the poems and feel these are great for reluctant readers, making for a quick dip-your-toes-in experience.

Heading into the Fluent Readers section, we discover a selection of books for various levels of reading ability. There’s a book for LEGO® fans to discover amazing things and build ideas so the reader can get creative. There is a book about a girl who has travelled to America to join a new football team and the struggles this brings when faced with a match against her friends from home (yes, I’ve read it)... A fantasy from Kiran Millwood-Hargrave (and I’m reading this one) and one for our older teens, This Book is a Lie by Benjamin Dean (my 14-year-old is reading this).

If none of these are inspiring your children, then your bookseller will sell a book that does offer excitement with £1 off the price in exchange for the token.

Your tokens are valid from 13th February 2025 until 23rd March 2025.

These are the World Book Day books in stock at Bizy Lizy Books in Heanor:

Written by Liz Barrow - owner of Bizy Lizy Books

My mission is to "Get Everyone Reading". I have had my business since 2019 having started on Heanor Market with a bookstall. My business has grown over the last 6 years and on 31st August I opened my first bricks and mortar Bookshop at Unit 1, 27 Market Place, Heanor. I stock books for all age groups and I can order any books that I don't have in stock so long as they are in print. I am also a stockist of National Book Tokens (as well as accepting them in store). I run 2 Book Clubs which are currently full and am looking to set up some more later in the year. My opening hours are generally Monday - Friday 9am to 5pm.