When is World Book Day 2026? Where to get tokens, participating booksellers, costume ideas and every £1 book
Here is everything you need to know about World Book Day 2026, including dates, this year’s selection of books, where you can use book tokens and more.
World Book Day will soon arrive to encourage young people to pick up a book and begin reading for fun.
First organised by UNESCO in 1995, World Book Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries with the aim of improving lives through reading.
While there are some differences as to how the event is celebrated in different countries, in the UK and Ireland children are provided with a book token which they can spend on a £1 - or €1.50 - book specially selected for readers of all abilities.
Here is everything you need to know about World Book Day 2026, including when it will take place, this year’s selection of books, where you can use book tokens and more.
When is World Book Day 2026?
World Book Day will take place on Thursday, March 5 2026.
In the UK and Ireland, the annual event takes place on the first Thursday of March, while UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day is observed internationally on April 23.
The difference is due to clashes with Easter school holidays, and instead World Book Night - organised by charity The Reading Agency - is held on April 23.
What is the theme of World Book Day 2026?
Unlike previous events, there is no theme for World Book Day this year. This is because the charity wants schools and families to encourage children to read for fun.
The organisation highlights six elements which research has shown helps children want to read at home which are:
- Share: read or listen to audiobooks together
- Access: having reading materials around them (including audiobooks, ebooks and graphic novels and comics)
- Choice: they pick what excites/interests them most
- Time: quiet moments help reading happen
- Help: get ideas from someone who knows what they like
- Fun: connect reading to other things they enjoy
All of these principles are geared towards slowing a generational decline in reading for pleasure.
World Book Day costume ideas
One way that schools get youngsters excited for reading is by making World Book Day a dress up day, which means finding (or making) costumes for even the most reluctant of readers.
There is little pressure for children to get involved, however the charity is keen to stress that this should be a low pressure situation - especially given the cost of living crisis.
If your child’s school is planning on a dress up day, there are plenty of resources for costumes available on World Book Day’s website.
For parents, the organisation recommends picking a book your child is interested in, using items you already own - think t-shirts, tracksuits, or pyjamas - and adding just one simple detail to indicate which book they’re referring to.
If getting a costume together is a bit too challenging, other suggestions include wearing a t-shirt of badge to invite recommendations, paper crafts, stickers, or even choosing an non-fiction book to carry a prop along for.
Why is World Book Day so important?
The main mission of World Book Day is to champion reading for fun. The charity’s only goal is to increase access to reading as it is one of the biggest indicators that a child will grow up to enjoy a happier and more successful future.
According to an annual survey by the National Literacy Trust in 2025, just one in three children and young people say they enjoy reading in their free time. That is a decrease in reading enjoyment of 36% from 2005.
In addition in 2024 a report by the Trust found that almost 1 million children in the UK don’t own any books at all, which increases to one in 8 for those who are eligible for free school meals. A quarter of these children said that the first book that had ever “bought” was done so with their World Book Day tokens.
To help address these issues, World Book Day aims to give every child the chance to become a reader by addressing behavioural and economic barriers to help improve the lives of children through reading.
The annual event is designed to be inclusive and relevant for all, and to try and encourage further engagement with books and reading.
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The full list of World Book Day books 2026
To help develop a love of reading in young people, World Book Day selects a series of £1/€1.50 books which children can purchase using their book token for free.
These books, which were chosen with help from children, are designed to appeal to a range of readers, from beginners to teenagers.
Here is the full list of 2026 World Book Day books.
For beginners:
- Peppa Pig: One Big Family
- The Big Bang by Rose Ayling-Ellis, in collaboration with Katie Blackburn, illustrated by Paddy Donnelly
For early years:
- Funny FACTopia! – Follow the Trail of 100 Wacky Facts by Christopher Lloyd and Kate Olesin, illustrated by Andy Smith
- Pablo and Splash: The Castle Quest written and illustrated by Sheena Dempsey
- Pia’s Pet Club: Iguana Escape by Serena Patel, illustrated by Emma McCann
- Unicorn Academy: My Secret Unicorn Diary
For fluent readers:
- Bear Rescue by Hannah Gold, illustrated by Levi Pinfold
- Unbelievable Football: The Most Amazing World Cup Stories You Never Knew by Matt Oldfield, illustrated by Ollie Mann
- Bunny vs Monkey: Total Chaos! by Jamie Smart
- Skandar and the Secret Element by A.F. Steadman
- Chaos at the Chocolate Factory by Sibéal Pounder
For independent readers:
- Against All Odds by Nathanael Lessore
There are also accessible copies of all these books available, with copies printed on off-white paper for readers with dyslexia, as well as braille, large print, and audio versions for those with vision loss. You can find out more here.
READ MORE: Five Scottish books for younger readers to celebrate World Book Day including Wee Unicorn
Where to get World Book Day tokens
Each year, the World Book Day charity distributes more than 15 million £1/€1.50 book tokens across the UK and Ireland.
This can be through schools or early learning settings, as well as through community partnerships, magazines, or in McDonalds’s Happy Meals. Partner charities BookTrust, and in Scotland the Scottish BookTrust, also distribute tokens.
There are also digital book tokens available which can be printed or presented on a phone or tablet to a participating bookseller.
Children can use their World Book Day tokens to get any of the listed books for free until Sunday, March 15.
Where to use World Book Day tokens
Retailers all over the country from independent booksellers to supermarkets are participating in World Book Day 2026.
While there is a full list of participating locations available on the charity’s website, you will be able to redeem book tokens at the following retailers:
- Local independent booksellers
- Argosy
- Asda
- Blackwell’s (selected stores only)
- Easons
- Foyles
- Sainsburys
- Tesco
- TG Jones
- The Works
- Waterstones
- WHSmith Travel (selected stores only)
In addition, there are 40 libraries across the country which will be hosting hubs for children to exchange their tokens.
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