World Book Day 2024 – Raising the Next Generation of Readers

We’re excited to be celebrating World Book Day (WBD) 2024 at Green Bean Studios! This year’s theme is ‘Read Your Way’, the idea being that children are more likely to read for pleasure if their choices are championed and make reading more fun.

With children’s literacy levels at crisis point and reading for pleasure declining, children are under increasing pressure to spend more time reading and jump through hoops in the education system to improve their literacy skills.

Though there is a desperate need for improvement to children’s early years education, forcing children to read books simply to develop literacy skills is not the best approach to help them read for pleasure. Giving children a choice of what to read is a vital part of encouraging a lifelong love of reading.

This year’s WBD theme encourages everyone to let go of pressure and expectations to give kids the choice and chance to enjoy reading. Good literacy and a true love of reading will come naturally if we give children the space and choice to read what excites and engages them.

There are many different types of writing that may inspire children to love reading without forcing them to read only books that are ‘at their level’ or within their book band as they learn phonics in school. Here are some of the different types of writing and storytelling that can help children discover their own joy of reading:

• Puzzle / activity books
• Children’s Magazines
• Comic books
• Graphic novels
• Non-fiction books
• Poetry
• Life writing
• Play scripts
• E-books

In formal education in the UK, children work through book bands as they learn phonics, working towards the level of ‘free reading’ – where they can read whatever books they choose. Whilst this system is an important part of helping children learn key skills and develop in literacy, children should not be restricted to only reading books at a set level of complexity.
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Allowing children to read books which are above or below their current reading level, if they are types of story or writing that they engage with and enjoy, is key to raising the next generation of passionate readers and writers.

But it is not just written forms of storytelling which inspire children to read. Author visits and oral storytelling also play an important role in sparking a love of reading and stories during childhood and beyond.

In honour of the annual World Book Day celebration, we asked Green Bean Studios team members and our Precious Moments Ambassadors to tell us a favourite story they remember from their childhood that sparked their love of reading.

Here’s what our Precious Moments Ambassadors had to say:
Helen Lord (Educator)
As a child I really enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia books. My favourite book was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I enjoyed reading it with my parents and then watching the TV series. 

I liked the description used and enjoyed using my imagination to imagine this magical world. I found it magical and sometimes a bit scary. It was a book my parents and sister also enjoyed and my sister and I would play as if we were the main characters so it was a whole family thing! 

My partner and I are now reading the books with our children on a Sunday evening and have created this as our family reading tradition snuggling on the sofa.

Chloe O'Byrne Millard (Parent)
My favourite book without a doubt was 'The Faraway Tree Stories' because it was full of adventures and ignited both mine and my sister's imaginations. 

I particularly loved all the different places you could escape to up the tree, it really felt as though I was there. Nothing like the imagination of a child! Wish I could have kept a bit of that into adulthood! 

John Shelton (Educator)
'Where the wild things are' by Maurice Sendak. Still remember the excitement of the journey the book took me on. I would read it under the bedclothes with a torch. There was a real sense of adventure, danger and lots of fun! Books truly do open a door into another world.

Sian Birch (Grandparent)
I was brought up with books and being read to. My father used to tell us stories about Tommy field mouse that his father had told him. He told them to my children too. They were relevant to what was happening in our lives…

Tommy field mouse didn't want to go to school, didn't want to go swimming, hadn't told the truth  etc. My father started to write them down after he'd retired and am currently looking for them to see about publishing.
As an additional thought my mother used to tell the story about Gelert. I was so upset that she changed the ending and he hadn't died after all. Literally only just learned the true ending a few years ago when I found the book and read it to my grandchildren. 

Emma Pinnock (Educator)
My pivotal reading experience was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I read lots of books before this time but this book made me a reader. I enjoyed the imagination of the text and how it transported me to another place. I still have this book in my top 3 and I took my son to see it in the theatre in December.  

 Morgan O.R. (Parent)
One of my most vivid and earlier memories of storytelling is being told/read the story of Creation, with all the intrinsic details about the Garden of Eden, described as a heavenly Paradise, and the accurate yet folkloric versions of it.

I’ve heard the story taught in Church but also told or read by my mum and my maternal grandmother at home. 

What I loved about it was all the images that painted in my highly visual, imaginative and creative brain, so I pictured this colourful and idyllic forest-like place, with all types of plants, trees, fruits, animals, Adam & Eve, Angels, God and so on.

I always had this sense of it not just being another fairytale, but a real story, of real people, that took place at some point in history, and to this day my favourite books and movies are ones based on real life experiences with detailed descriptions backed up by facts.

Sylvia Ortakhogbogie (Parent)
The book I had fond memories of is a book called 'Little mole goes out for a walk'.
It is the 1st story book I ever read. I remember it was my brother's friend who let him borrow the book, and I had the chance to read it. I was very excited to read it. I must have been in year 3 then, and this should be around 1987/88. I may not remember the whole story of the book, but I've never forgotten the name of the book.

Just thinking about my response for your Green Bean Studios article made me go search up the book. Seeing the picture of it brought back memories. I went on to read more books by Enid Blyton afterwards and started to love reading but that book was what ignited reading in me.

Ask the Editor – What inspired you to be a reader in childhood?
I’m very grateful for my mum reading me and my brothers a bedtime story every night (until I was about 11 years old!). I absolutely loved the feeling of being cosy and warm in bed with soft lighting on, listening to my mum’s voice telling stories whilst my mind imagined all the places and characters, building whole worlds in my brain that wove into my dreams.
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The main books that I remember really inspiring me to read were, like many of our ambassadors and team, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Others were Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, The Hobbit, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, and many of Malorie Blackman’s books. 

I also loved poetry – the fantastic nonsensical Ning Nang Nong by Spike Milligan, The Tyger by William Blake, and Jaberwocky by Lewis Carroll. The words, the rhythm, the imagery all amazed me, igniting my imagination and sparking a true love of words, reading, and writing.

(Melissa Brannlund, Editor for Green Bean Studios)
Note from the Editor – Raising the next generation of readers
What fantastic responses from our amazing Precious Moments Ambassadors! A huge thank you to each and every one of you for sharing your reading memories with us. I absolutely loved hearing about what stories you enjoyed in childhood and how these shaped you into a reader and ignited your imagination! 

A member of the Green Bean Studios Team shared that, like many of our Ambassadors, they also loved The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, enjoying reading independently at 8 years old. They said they loved the adventure, suspense, and the light over the darkness winning every time.

It’s interesting to note how certain books like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe seem to define a generation of readers, much the same as Harry Potter has shaped a new generation of readers into book lovers.
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As adults, educators, and parents, now more than ever we all have a duty to nurture a love of reading in this next generation of early years children. Giving children a diverse choice of books to read, and following their lead on what excites and intrigues them, is fundamental to this.

Our Ambassadors play an essential role in working with us to support more children to read for pleasure and thrive. If you’re an Educator, Parent, Grandparent, or Carer who works with children and want to join us as a Precious Moments Ambassador to support our mission, please visit this link to find out more:

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