On Tuesday the 23rd of April, you’re invited to celebrate World Book Day! This year, readers young and old are encouraged to ‘read your way’, making reading not just accessible for all, but full of fun too. By choosing books or book-related activities that build on your little one's skills, the expectations or pressure around reading can be replaced with a love of learning. Reading comes in many forms and while some readers like to turn a page, others might prefer to listen to their favourite story, read with a friend or even read without words at all. However you read, here are some amazing stories told differently about people and experiences that are just as unique.
The Brain Forest (5-9 years)
Created by Onwards and Upward Psychology, ‘The Brain Forest’ is a celebration of neurodiversity! This bright and engaging picture book takes young readers on a journey through the many ways our brains can be. Brains that go fast, brains that go slow, brains that do what they're told, even brains that say NO! With vivid illustrations, each storyline introduces important topics like disability accommodation and strengths-based learning in a child-friendly manner and invites us all to imagine more inclusive environments.
Emma's Auslan Alphabet (5-9 years)
Join Emma the former Wiggle to learn about the wonderful world of Auslan! Find different ways to communicate with your family, friends, or friends you haven't met yet. This book is an incredible reference for nonverbal communicators or anyone wanting to get acquainted with Auslan!
Read Along Online - Virtual Page Turners (All Ages)
Reading aloud is a great tool to give learning extra excitement. By adding a visual digital element using an online read-along, freely available on YouTube, children can experience the tactile motions of reading left to right and audible fluency in an independent yet supported way. This online option mimics the classroom or bedtime experience through clear uninterrupted sound, as well as deliberate demonstration of the book or text. The added benefit of closed-captioning, sound and location control, creates space for further accessibility needs. It can also accompany in-person reading to add extra interest for little ones whose brains enjoy an added layer of fun.
Here are a few channels to get you started:
Let’s Read Stories features household favourites with stories for kids, read by kids and encourages children to read aloud by connecting with a voice that sounds like their own.
Story Time Family holds a virtual library of lesser-known titles, ready to refresh the bookshelf with a curated selection of mental health, animal, and adventure-themed stories.
Literally Cultured focuses on a diverse range of identities in books and is the perfect place to pair stories with this year's World Book Day theme- Read your Way!
The Black Book of Colours (3-8 years)
Designed with the vision impaired in mind, the ‘Black Book of Colours’, asks sighted readers to imagine a world sometimes they themselves can’t see. Using raised illustrations with textured art on black paper, the reader's sense of touch, taste, smell, or hearing is embraced to describe and engage with the world around us in often forgotten ways. Accompanied by a beautifully written text translated into braille, the power of reading takes on a whole new feeling in this award-winning book.
Story Seeds- Short Story Podcast (6 years and above)
‘Story Seeds’ is a unique podcast featuring short stories written by kids ages 6 to 12 in collaboration with bestselling children’s authors. Each episode is different with a new adventure awaiting each week. Alongside the audio, episode notes are available including transcripts of the author pair’s initial interview. Importantly, the podcast covers a diverse range of topics that meaningfully and imaginatively discuss sometimes difficult issues, so look out for the ‘Before You Listen’ guide.
But what makes ‘Story Seeds’ such an exciting project is all the added content available to make reading an immersive experience like activity kits and music playlists that connect to the theme of each episode.
Check out one of their most popular episodes ‘A Worm’s Worth’, written by 12-year-old Brooklynite, Irthan and the American National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds who created a story about an earthworm that turns into a human every 28 days, on the night of a full moon. What could happen next?
World Book Day is an opportunity to empower young readers to discover new perspectives, and in doing so, find stories that they can make their own. So however the little ones read, every page, minute, or gesture holds life-changing benefits they will use to tell their tale for years to come.
