World Book Day is here again! A celebration of books, children’s literature and a wonderful way to promote the joys of reading.
The mission of World Book Day is to change lives through a love of books and shared reading. In 2021, the focus is to encourage parents, children and young people to spend just ten minutes a day sharing a story – to encourage a lifelong love of reading.
At Dolphin, we are keen to ensure that all children have the opportunity to read. When books and reading are accessible to all children - including children with visual impairments or who are neurodivergent - it means all children have the opportunities to share in the successes reading brings.
“Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator for success in life, more than family circumstances, educational background, or income.”
Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development
Designated by UNESCO as a global celebration of books and reading, World Book Day is marked in over 100 countries around the world. It’s a day when children around the world enjoy dressing up as their favourite literary characters. While at school - and this year at typically at home school – children everywhere will celebrate books, stories and reading with their friends and classmates.
Accessible books
While the focus of World Book Day has in the past been on printed books, it’s encouraging that this year, the World Book Day organisers have introduced a prominent ‘World of Stories Audiobooks’ section. This features a selection of audiobooks read by celebrities such as Alan Davies and Sheridan Smith. There are 21 audiobooks available, suitable for a range of age groups.
This is a welcome addition for children and young people who are not able to read printed books and we look forward to seeing how this develops in future years.
Where to find accessible World Book Day books
This year the RNIB continues to support World Book Day and has made 13 books from the World Book Day reading list available in audio and in braille formats.
Other talking book libraries including Calibre Audio are also highlighting books by this year’s chosen authors. These are available for listeners now, with plans to add the 2021 book lists to their library in the near future.
The 2021 World Book Day line up for the UK, available in accessible formats through the RNIB in England:
- There’s a Wolf in Your Book by Tom Fletcher
- What the Ladybird Heard (Playscript) by Julia Donaldson
- Gigantosaurus: Dino-Spot by Jonny Duddle
- Luna Loves World Book Day by Joseph Coehlo
- Protect the Planet by Jess French
- Football School by Alexander Bellos and Ben Lyttleton
- Planet Omar: Operation Kind by Zanib Mian
- The River Whale by Sita Brahmachari
- Skysteppers by Katherine Rundell
- Little Badman and the Radioactive Samosa by Humza Arshad and Henry White
- Skulduggery Pleasant: Apocalypse Kings by Derek Landy
- Killjoy by Holly Jackson
Available in accessible formats through RNIB Wales, the 2021 WBD line up for Wales is:
- Ha Ha Cnec by Huw Aaron
- There’s a Wolf in Your Book by Tom Fletcher
- What the Ladybird Heard (Playscript) by Julia Donaldson
- Gigantosaurus: Dino-Spot by Jonny Duddle
- Luna Loves World Book Day by Joseph Coehlo
- Protect the Planet by Jess French
- Football School by Alexander Bellos and Ben Lyttleton
- Planet Omar: Operation Kind by Zanib Mian
- The River Whale by Sita Brahmachari
- Skysteppers by Katherine Rundell
- Little Badman and the Radioactive Samosa by Humza Arshad and Henry White
- Skulduggery Pleasant: Apocalypse Kings by Derek Landy
- Killjoy by Holly Jackson
Dolphin EasyReader is a free reading app. Suitable for children and young people who are blind, visually impaired or have dyslexia, EasyReader gives you direct access to audio book libraries, textbook libraries and talking newspaper services.
It provides an accessible way to download and read books on Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.
Recommended by the RNIB, EasyReader has direct access to the world’s largest collection of accessible libraries, including RNIB Bookshare, Calibre Audio, Bookshare and Vision Australia.
EasyReader is simple to navigate and control. Users can also choose to use audio settings to add human-sounding voices to text-only titles. Or download books to view with customisable options including text magnification, dyslexia-friendly fonts, text and background colour.
Find out more at YourDolphin.com/easyreader
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