An Ode to World Book Day 2022

When was the last time you picked up a book, read it, and then celebrated it? If your answer is “um…” while you tap your chin and look up to the sky, it’s time to pick up a good book. What better time than World Book Day? International World Book Day takes place every year on April 23rd to celebrate the authors and stories that were the building blocks of our society. Although it may seem like light years ago, before television and the internet, people primarily got their entertainment from storytelling. Whether that was word of mouth or from a beautiful book, people really found a connection through words and communication.

This year, let's take the time to celebrate it properly. As we have all been through a harsh time in history where famine, disaster, disease, and poverty have plagued the current generation, it is a crucial time to not only grow in personal knowledge but also to create a healthy hobby that can easily be shared between a variety of different friend groups. So, what are some good ways to celebrate?

♥Dress up as your favorite book character. If you have kids or you're a teacher at school, you can conduct an entire activity out of it where everyone explains who their favorite character is, their story, and what they like about them.

♥Create a book care package for your reading buddy. You can get the special editions of their favorite books, or buy ones they don't have from their favorite authors.

♥Have a library scavenger hunt. Make a list of famous books/authors with your friends and family, take a trip to♥Dress up as your favorite book character. If you have kids or you're a teacher at school, you can conduct an entire activity out of it where everyone explains who their favorite character is, their story, and what they like about them.

♥Create a book care package for your reading buddy. You can get the special editions of their favorite books, or buy ones they don't have from their favorite authors.

♥Have a library scavenger hunt. Make a list of famous books/authors with your friends and family, take a trip to the library, and see who can find everything first!

♥Visit a used book store! Remember – thrifting is an amazing option for you physical book copy lovers to help our environment!

♥Make bookmarks! You can include quotes from your favorite books.

♥Join a book club or start a book club! Having trouble picking a title? Follow Red Mars Publishing on Instagram to see our different book club ideas!

While we promote literacy in our communities, we also should help ourselves to grow as individual human beings. Understanding different points of view, historical contexts, and sometimes just enjoying the pure entertainment can really make a difference both to grow in intelligence (emotionally and mentally) as well as grow collectively as a society. There are so many benefits, but most of all, it's lovely to have the world at your fingertips bound between just a few pages.

Article edited by Lola Lujan.