Settle down with a good read – inspiring spaces for World Book Day

On 1st March literature will once again be inspiring imaginations around the world

Children across every key stage will be taking part in World Book Day, joining in with a host of activities and events centred on books, authors, illustrators and most importantly, the joy of reading. This is sure to be a day packed full of fun!

What is World Book Day?

World Book Day is an annual celebration of literature, organised by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) marked in over 100 countries around the world. The event encourages children and their families to come together, share a good book and discuss their love of reading. For schools, World Book Day offers an engaging and exciting opportunity to inspire children to extend their reading, explore new genres and think more positively about literature.

With all this excitement going on, it is more important than ever to offer your class a comfortable spot to settle down with a good read.

Here are our top tips on creating inspiring spaces to read in the classroom…

1. Be space savvy

Classroom configuration can be tricky business, especially in Early Years and Key Stage 1 classrooms, where a variety of equipment is key to learning. Plan the space carefully and find room for your book corner or den away from the main hustle and bustle of the class. Storage solutions that offer seating as well as somewhere to house your library can help to save space. Pop up dens are a simple one-stop solution if a corner space is not available.

2. Settle down

It goes without saying that a comfortable environment encourages relaxation. If you want your pupils or children to really lose themselves in a book, you need to provide them with a cosy space to do this in. Add cushions, bean bags and rugs to your book nook. Think outside the (book) box and provide clever seating and storage solutions to optimise the space. Take a look at our selection of library seating for more inspiration.

3. Display OK

Creating a display in your classroom reading corner or space is a great way to engage readers and encourage them to extend their reading. The best types of displays provoke thought and encourage questions. Try designing your display with key themes from your group text for the term, or create a display with lots of different characters popular to the age group. Be sure to use all of the space available including the walls, ceiling and floor. Our Arts & Crafts section is fully stocked with everything you need to create beautiful, inspirational displays for every year group.

4. Variety is the spice of life (and reading)

Offering a wide selection of texts could be just the thing to encourage young readers to engage with the written word. Magazines, newspapers, non-fiction texts and even menus and flyers are all fantastic for showing how many words there are in the world! Texts of different types will help to extend you class’ vocabulary and encourage the fluency of reading that is so important in later life.

5. Organisation is key

Keeping a reading area tidy can be a challenge, especially with younger year groups. Being organised with the way books are stored will make using the space much easier for young readers. A clear system of marked storage shelves or boxes will encourage them to tidy up after themselves and help build their searching skills for later stages. Try ordering your books in alphabetical order for older learners, colour code them or sort by size for younger groups. We offer a huge variety of book storage systems for every space and age group on our website.

However you decide to celebrate World Book Day we hope that you have fun! Watch this space for more posts on the day, as well as our competition to win a bundle of display items for your school. We'd also love to see your display or book area ideas. Share your pictures with us on social media – visit us on Facebook or Twitter.