Video: Sharon Walia meets some of the children celebrating World Book Day
A wheelchair-bound eight-year-old becoming his favourite superhero was among the highlights of Notts’ World Book Day celebrations.
Riley (pictured) has a condition called Cerebellar Atrophy, which his mother says is similar to Cerebral Palsy, but he didn’t let his wheelchair stop him from becoming Superman.
Children from schools across Nottinghamshire joined him to dress up as their favourite characters for the 20th World Book Day, including Alice in Wonderland and Captain America.
Figures from a Literacy Trust survey found that nine out of 10 pupils aged 8-11 were aware of World Book Day, with six in 10 inspired to read more by the celebration of books and reading.
As well as dressing up, children also receive a token which can be used to purchase a book for £1.
A quarter of pupils surveyed said the book they ‘bought’ with their 2016 World Book Day token was the first they ever owned and this increased to three in 10 among children receiving free school meals.
Freelance consultant and writer Rebecca Goldsmith is working with Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature to make Nottingham’s Dawn of the Unread a literacy engagement tool for Key Stage 3 pupils.
Dawn of the Unread is a graphic novel which tells 16 stories of famous characters and authors from Nottingham.
Rebecca said: “Dawn of the Unread has so much scope to engage KS3 students.
“It is really accessible and rich in detail with so much to explore, it is a portal to literary heritage, linking young people to characters and stories from the past in a way that is uniquely relevant to them.
“I am excited to help shape the ways in which schools and students can access and enjoy the stories, and use them as a jumping off point for wider learning.”
Director of the City of Literature Sandeep Mahal said: “Dawn of the Unread is a special comic book with so much scope for readers to explore the literary heritage, characters and stories about Nottingham.
“We are very excited by the plans to reshape the book as a literacy engagement tool for schools and to inspire more teenagers to love reading.”
The Milk Lounge in Arnold marked the occasion with a free interactive story session of Walking Through the Jungle run by Inspire Library, and encouraged parents and children to dress up as book characters.
“It’s really important for children to read books,” said owner Charlotte Purdie.
“When children are reading books they’re learning from an early age.”
Charlotte reads to her 2 year old son every night, and 2-3 times a day.
His favourite books include Thomas the Tank Engine, Peppa Pig and books with musical buttons that he can press.
“It’s definitely promoting children to read at any age and for parents to make costumes and dress their kids up, it’s good to start the reading conversation.”
The University of Nottingham libraries had a drop in book finding session and library swap with customised trolleys for World Book Day.
Katherine Beers, from the libraries, said: “We’ve got the UNESCO City of Literature and the University do a lot to support that.
“Books support both teaching and learning and we want to recognise what people feel really passionate about.
“Our students really love the libraries and a big part of a library is the books.”
The library is also going to publish blog posts throughout the month of March from Nottingham authors, teaching others how to write their own books.
“We want to raise the profile of what we’ve got in our collection,” added Katherine.
“Although we’re investing in digital publications our book collections are fantastic.”
