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World Book Day

World Book Day

Help us reach 5000 children
Before it's too late!

For millions of families living in poverty, having books at home just isn’t an option but with your support today, we can open a whole new world to thousands of children, a world filled with possibilities and a bright future.

We know that due to the pandemic school closures 100 million more children than expected are falling behind the minimum reading levels* and that children from low-income backgrounds are the most impacted due to limited access to books, education resources and owning digital devices.

Please support our urgent campaign ‘Before it’s too late’ to help us reach 5000 children today in desperate need of books and literacy support.

For a child like Mia, living in poverty means there are no books for a bed-time story, and she often goes to bed hungry. 

Like you, we believe every child, no matter their circumstances, deserves to have books and access to the literacy support they need so that they can experience the joy of reading, escaping into a great story and have meaningful opportunities in their life. 

With your donation, a child living in deprivation will receive fun and age-appropriate books and the literacy support they desperately need to ensure they become literacy confident – before it’s too late.

Your support will help a child like Mia receive a book and literacy pack.

Join the conversation

Please help us spread the word by sharing your pictures and messages from World Book Day on social media using the hashtag #beforeitstoolate. Feel free to tag us on Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram and LinkedIn.

What is World Book and Copyright Day?

During UNESCO’s General Conference, held in Paris in 1995, UNESCO created the World Book and Copyright Day on April 23. A global initiative to recognize the influence and importance of books and authors. Each year, individuals, organizations, schools, public bodies, and NGOs, work together to celebrate and promote a love for reading.
Stephen Fry World Book Day
Photo by Elliott Spencer

Every child, no matter their circumstances, deserves access to books and literacy support. Please support the World Literacy Foundation with a gift today.

Stephen Fry

Best-selling Authors Back the Campaign

Sarah Turner 300x300 1
“World Book Day is one of the most fun days at school, my three boys love to dress up as their favourite characters and dive into wonderful stories. Whilst the day will be different for most children this year, taking part with online school activities, they, just like my kids, will be reaching for their bookshelves and engaging in this lovely day. The reality for thousands of children however, those who live in poverty, won’t be taking part with the same enthusiasm and this is why I am supporting ‘Before it’s too Late’.”

The UnMumsy Mum author – Sarah Turner.
Emma Gannon 3 Photo by Adam Brazier 300x300 1
“The pressures on parents who are already struggling financially to put a hot meal on the table each day, understandably don’t have the disposable income to spend on books and there’s also a serious problem for children and families who don’t have access to tech that can support their learning – especially during school closures as they’re not able to take part in online school activities.” 

Writer and podcaster – Emma Gannon.
Bolu Babalola 300x300 1
“I was very shy as a child and reading gave me a place to escape and to also find myself through characters and new perspectives. Stories gave me hope and confidence – characters felt like friends. I wish for every child to have the opportunity to find stories they enjoy and learn from, books that feel like support and inspiration for who they can become and what their futures hold. Every child deserves a book of their own and what better day to gift our love of books to the next generation by supporting this campaign.”

Author and broadcaster – Bolu Babalola. 
Gift My Love of Reading Today

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World Book Day WLF has grown to align with the needs of an evolving education sector. The World Literacy Foundation has worked towards forging partnerships with other leading educational and related not-for-profit organisations, and has built long-lasting relationships within communities around the world. Donate to World Book Day World Literacy Foundation significantly dedicates its time and resources to conducting research, and uses resulting information to help advocate in local communities as well as on a global scale.

World Book Day

World Book Day

World Book Day

World Book Day

The World Literacy Foundation volunteers and partner communities have worked in Azerbaijan, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Colombia, Mozambique, Uganda, and other developing countries to provide access to quality education and learning resources to disadvantaged communities. With bases on five of the seven continents, the tailors each operation to the country’s specific literacy needs.

In the African sect based in Uganda, where many people live in poverty and have no electricity the World Literacy Foundation has donated solar powered tablets. Paired with the Sun Books initiative the World Literacy Foundation is not just donating recourses but also training to teachers at the primary school level.

Where the foundation was started in Australia, the goal is geared towards closing the gap of literacy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. For indigenous people illiteracy rates are a more prominent problem. To improve skills such as reading and number skills, the World Literacy Foundation has developed a program called the Indigenous Learning App. This app contains multilingual e-books and multiple literacy games in not just English but also the local dialect in Australia.[6]

In the African sect with headquarters in Uganda, where many people live in poverty and have no electricity the World Literacy Foundation has donated solar powered tablets. Paired with the Sun Books initiative the World Literacy Foundation is not just donating recourses but also training to teachers at the primary school level on how to use these resources effectively. The solar powered tablets come preloaded with digital learning content and multilingual e-books. In Uganda only roughly 27% of people have access to electricity and the cost of one book can be a whole month’s salary.

These sunbooks.org are useful in the sense that they do not need to be electrically charged and are universal tools, coming loaded with multiple uses.[7] Several years ago, the World Literacy Foundation founded their South America sect in Manizales, Colombia. Latin America is in dire need of educational reform, over 35 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate.

Here it is only expected that children attend school for 6 years compared to the traditional 12 most other countries require. To help improve these statistics the World Literacy Foundation runs two classes a week for over 60 children and other community members. During beneficial classes the World Literacy Foundation supports learners of all ages with tutoring and reading services.[7] In the United Kingdom illiteracy costs the UK’s economy roughly $50 billion USD a year.

It is here the World Literacy Foundation has run 26 fundraising projects, book distribution drives and provides numerous services. To help combat illiteracy the World literacy Foundation provides services such as parent mentoring, tutoring services, delivering literacy recourses, and distributes multilingual children/baby books. In the UK the World Literacy Foundation also has made a pack to new mothers to whom English would not be their first language to improve literacy and help them improve their standard of life.[7] Even in the United States of America there is a literacy crisis.

This gap can be measured by 30 million words, and this stretches from learners who live in poverty to those who are afforded the best education money can buy. Although it is not just the socioeconomics that divide America’s literate, literacy rates also greatly range between racial groups. To support American learners the World Literacy Foundation has encouraged 150 schools to participate in International literacy Day.

In February 2019 a project called Michigan Reads debuted; this is an initiative to provide tutoring and literacy resources to children from all backgrounds in Michigan. In America there are also over 60 Youth Ambassadors who promote literacy in their schools and communities.[7] Global projects The World Literacy Foundation hosts several global projects a year. The most popular being the International Day of Literacy.