World Book Day reveals its 2023 £1 books

This year, for the first time, children helped with the selection of the £1/€1.50 books. The children, previously described as ‘reluctant readers’, explored titles by potential World Book Day 2023 authors to make their recommendations.

Including children’s voices in the selection of the £1/€1.50 books demonstrates the charity’s commitment to engage and inspire more children with relatable titles, championing the energy and diversity of children’s literature in the UK and Ireland today.

READ about National Read a Book Day here

Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.

To support more children in developing a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure, World Book Day’s six evidence-based principles sit at the core of all its activity:

Being read to regularly

Access to books at home

The ability for children to choose what they want to read

Having trusted adults and peers sharing and recommending books

The reading experience being enjoyable

Designated time to read

Research found that 50 percent of children found reading more fun, 49 percent feel they have more choice in what they read and 42 percent said they now make more time to read, as a result of World Book Day.

The charity works closely with partners including booksellers across the country, over 35 publishers, BookTrust, National Literacy Trust, Publishers Association, Booksellers Association and Libraries Connected.

Together, they aim to improve access and gift books to more isolated communities, including 24,000 books to prisons to encourage families to read together when visiting.

During its 25th birthday this year booksellers and publishers gifted 2,000,000 £1/€1.50 books through World Book Day via, and the charity’s digital events reached more than 500,000 children.

In 2023, the charity will look to build on this and reach more children than ever - especially those from harder to reach communities and disadvantaged backgrounds. An extensive programme of activities to encourage and support reading will take place with authors, illustrators, publishers, retailers and partners.

Lenny Henry said: "'I am really chuffed to be part of the line-up of £1 World Book Day 2023 authors and illustrators with my book, The Boy with Wings: Attack of the Rampaging Robot.

"It is such an honour to be on the list. Reading is such an amazing thing to do, it opens imaginations wide and takes us all off on new adventures. I wholeheartedly support World Book Day's commitment to encouraging more children to read, and championing the diversity of children’s literature on offer in the UK and Ireland today.'."

Cassie Chadderton, chief executive of World Book Day said: “Our aim as a charity is to encourage all children to love reading, see themselves as readers and ultimately, improve their life chances.

"This is even more important at a time when the cost of living crisis is set to damage access to books and reading for thousands of children. The announcement of our £1/€1.50 World Book Day books is always an exciting moment and we’re proud to present these 15 books for 2023 from a wonderful range of authors and illustrators.”

World Book Day’s 2023 £1/€1.50 books are:

BEGINNING

Lifesize Creepy Crawlies, by Sophy Henn, published by Red Shed, Farshore

Come on an interactive non-fiction adventure to discover how YOU measure up against some of the world’s most incredible LIFESIZE creepy crawlies – from the teeny tiny to the absolutely gigantic!

This fascinating glimpse into the magical world of minibeasts is brought to you by Sophy Henn – the star creator of the bestselling LIFESIZE series.

Billy’s Bravery, by Tom Percival, published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Billy absolutely LOVES Nature Girl. She’s his favourite superhero EVER! He has read all the books, seen all the cartoons, and he’s even got his own Nature Girl costume! So when World Book Day comes round, Billy knows exactly who he wants to dress up as.

Then Billy hears a nasty voice in his head. What if he looks silly? What if his friends make fun of him? Going out in a costume can be scary, even if you are dressed up as your favourite character in the whole world. Can Billy be as brave as Nature Girl?

A reassuring and uplifting book about finding your courage – the perfect springboard for talking about anxiety with little ones.

Bedtime for the Burpee Bears, by Joe Wicks, co-written with Vivian French, illustrated by Paul Howard, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books

The Burpee Bears love to have fun – and that includes bedtime! From trying to brush their teeth without squirting toothpaste everywhere, to putting on their pyjamas the right way round, there’s certainly a lot to keep everyone busy. But the best part of all is settling down together for quiet time before they finally close their eyes.

EARLY

You Choose Your Adventure by Pippa Goodhart, illustrated by Nick Sharratt published by Puffin (Penguin Random House Children’s Books)

Welcome to your adventure!

What will you wear?

Where will you go?

Who would you like to meet on the way?

Go on . . . YOU CHOOSE!

Discover a different story every time with this magical storytelling toolkit – let your imagination run wild!

Marvel Spider-Man the Amazing Pocket Guide, by Catherine Saunders, published by DK