insideKENT Magazine Issue 72 - March 2018 | Page 35

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
WORLD
BOOK
DAY
WORLD BOOK DAY IS A TRUE CELEBRATION OF THE WRITTEN WORD
WHICH, WITH THE PREVALENCE OF BLOCKBUSTER MUST-SEE MOVIES AND ADDICTIVE
TV BOX SETS, CAN GET SOMEWHAT LOST IN THE DIN. IT IS BOOKS THEMSELVES
HOWEVER, BEST ENJOYED DURING RESTFUL MOMENTS, THAT CAN TAKE US ON THE
MOST MARVELLOUS OF ADVENTURES. BOOKS CAN BREAK HEARTS AND RAISE LAUGHS
AND THE TALES THEY TELL STAY WITH US LONG AFTER THE FINAL PAGE IS TURNED. IT’S
A GREAT IDEA TO HAVE A DAY SIMPLY TO HONOUR THEM.
Reading is, perhaps, the simplest of all simple
pleasures. Pair a good read with your
imagination and you can go on the wildest of
adventures, meet t he most fascinating of
people, witness planets burning and worlds
being created. You can fall in love, you can
despise deeply, you can fight and live and
dream – and, gloriously, you can do it all from
a comfortable armchair. World Book Day is celebrated in over 100
countries worldwide ever since it was
established by UNESCO in 1997. This year, it
will be held on Thursday 1st March and if you
have school aged children you’ll probably be
helping them to pick a costume and dress up
as their favourite book character. It’s one of
the main draws of the day which aims to show
children just how great reading really is.
The most remarkable thing about reading is
that it’s all in your head. Those words, just a
series of letters arranged in infinite varieties,
are, when it comes down to it, ink on paper.
They only mean something because we
readers give them meaning. It is all down to
us. Those extraordinary battles and windswept
moors and spinsters solving crimes in
picturesque English villages are our creations.
There’s something rather awesome about that. The day is full of activities that encourage
children to read, and each school that registers
is provided with packs of book tokens (around
15 million such tokens will be sent out in time
for this year’s celebration) alongside other
World Book Day resource packs full of fantastic
book-based ideas and activities. The book
tokens can be used to purchase one of ten
specially selected books, or they can be put
towards any other book that the child wants
to buy. And really, if a child is happy to buy
books, encouraging them has to be the best
policy.
What’s On
KNOLE AND CHARTWELL // 3-4 MAR
The National Trust is welcoming all
children to many of their special homes
to spend their £1 book vouchers. In Kent,
Knole and Chartwell will be opening up
their doors to those keen to get reading
– there’s lots of children’s book activities
planned as well. Don’t forget to wear your
World Book Day costumes for a bit of
extra fun.
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