Celebrating World Book Day March 5th

World Book Day!

Did you know that March 5 is World Book Day?  The day was established 17 years ago and was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of reading books.  Over 100 countries participate World Book Day as a way to share the joy of reading books.

Personally, I love to read. Books are a way to visit the Taj Mahal, the pyramids, climb Mt. Everest, travel back through history or rocket into the future, all without leaving home.  

To, me, the public library was an awesome idea. Just think, before a library, you had to purchase anything you wanted to read, limiting assess to those that couldn’t afford to make such a purchase.

I was saddened to read that, according to a 2014 study posted on Buzzfeed.com, one out of five kids asked said that if a friend found them reading a book, they’d be embarrassed. The study also found that of those kids responding, 54 percent said they prefer to watch television rather than read a book. How can we turn such poll numbers around?

I grew up on Nancy Drew books, I eagerly awaited the next published adventure of Nancy and her friends. I read biographies on women including Amelia Earhart, Clara Barton, Florence Nightingale, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony and more.  Kids need to see the wonderful world of books.  Perhaps, the next time you need to get gifts for your child, niece or nephew, include a book as one of you gifts.

Share these fun book facts, quotes, activity, and more with your class during your next reading unit or on March 5 during your very own classroom celebration of World Book Day. 

Whether you read traditional books or ebooks, it doesn’t matter, just grab a book and read!

Book Facts:

1. Did you know that the Chinese invented paper around 105 AD?

2. Each second, 57 books are sold. Someone figured that in one day, you’d need 78 miles of book shelving to store that amount of books. Source: http://infactcollaborative.com/things/book-facts.html

3. Each year, the main library at Indiana University sinks about one inch from the weight of all the books! Source: http://www.strange-facts.info/interesting-facts-about-books

4. Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, worked as a boy at Cadbury as a chocolate taste tester! Shows you never know how your childhood may shape what you do as an adult! Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/oliver-tearle/fascinating-literary-facts_b...

5. A new book by Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr.  Seuss, was recently found. Called “What Pet Should I Get?”. The book will be published some time in 2015.

6. Another fun fact about Dr. Seuss, he was challenged to write a book using only 50 words. The result, “Green Eggs and Ham”. Here are the 50 words he used: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.

7. Ever read "Where the Wild Things Are" written by Maurice Sendak? He originally wanted the book to be called "Where the Wild Horses Are," but couldn’t draw horses, and told his editor he could draw…things.

8. The author of Frankenstein was Mary Shelley. The monster was NOT Frankenstein, he had no name. Frankenstein was the scientist who created the monster.

9. The author of "Alice in Wonderland," Lewis Carroll, is credited with introducing 21 made-up words to the Oxford English Dictionary. Source: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/388572/Top-10-facts-abou...

10. Someone calculated that Charles Dickens used 4.6 million different words in his writings. Also, a new treat, the lollypop was featured in a couple of Dickens' books.

11. Books helped to build a road! Over 2.5 million books were shredded and added to the road asphalt for part of the M6 road in England. Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/qi/10174462/QI-some-quite-inte...

12. The world’s first library was built by Ashurbanipal (668-627BC) in Assyria

13. In 2012,  998 people in Sydney, Australia, set a record for the most people balancing books on their head!

14. Sadly, as of 2014, 1 in 5 adults can not read or write worldwide. Source: http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/508275/Top-10-facts-about...

15. Did you know that people in the country of India take the title for the most reading done each week? On average, 10.7 hours a week is spent reading by the average Indian. Source: http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/508275/Top-10-facts-about...

16. The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered the oldest written story. It comes from the people of Mesopotamia and tells the adventures of the King of Uruk (2750-2500 BC).

17. The first book printed on the printing press was the Bible in 1450. It was done on Johann Gutenberg’s press. The Bible is also the largest-selling historical book in the world!

18. A library in Charleston, South Carolina opened its doors in 1698, making it the first public library in America. Source: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0932506.html

19. The handwritten "The Codex Leicester" by Leonardo da Vinci sold for a whopping $30,802,500 in 1994 as the most expensive book ever sold. The buyer…Bill Gates.

20. According to the Pew Research Center, 1 out of 4 Americans said they didn’t read ONE book in the past year! Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/opinion/blow-reading-books-is-fundamen...

Quotes about Reading and Books:

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”  -Richard Steele

"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark."  -Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."  -Walt Disney  

"A book is like a garden, carried in the pocket." -Chinese Proverb

"The things I want to know are in books. My best friend is the man who'll get me a book I [haven't] read." -Abraham Lincoln

 “A house without books is like a room without windows.” -Heinrich Mann

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." -Dr. Seuss

"Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers." -Harry S. Truman

Activity: 

Illustrate one of the quotes.

Which quote do you like the best and why? Write a paragraph explaining what you think your favorite quote means.

Extensions:

Each child should have a library card. As educators, ask your students if they own a library card, and if not, encourage them to get one.

Check out my web quest on the Library of Congress, our Nation's Library! The Library of Congress, our Nation's Library has over 33 million books. There are also over 12.5 million photographs and 6 million pieces of sheet music! Learn more about the Nation's Library with my informative webquest.