Calendar for Planning Reading Events
There are now very many literature and literacy-themed events throughout the year. It’s hard to celebrate all of them, but for some of them you can plan activities, read books and generate discussion, others you can mark by just creating a well-placed display.
These are just some. A full calendar is provided by the National Literacy Trust, although you need to sign up to membership to access it. Libraries connected provide information about reading events for all ages in the Universal Reading Offer
JANUARY
Holocaust Memorial Day – a sober start to the year remembering those who have lost their lives in the Holocaust and other genocides
FEBRUARY
LGBT+ History Month – ask your schools library service to recommend age-appropriate LGBT resources
National Storytelling Week – celebration of oral storytelling – get children to tell stories as well as invite storytellers
Safer Internet Day– using the internet wisely for children
Harry Potter Book Night – event kits are available from publisher Bloomsbury
MARCH
International Women’s Day– use this day to celebrate the power of girls!
Shakespeare Week – register for free resources
World Book Day – on the first Thursday of March, this is now one of the major days on the reading calendar! Dress up, spend £1 book tokens, the website has many many ideas.
World Poetry Day – 21 March, and was first declared by UNESCO in 1999. Its purpose is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world.
APRIL
International Children’s Book Day – co-ordinated by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People), and held on or around 2nd April to commemorate the birth of Hans Christian Anderson
MAY
National Share-a-Story Month– organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups to celebrate story telling and story sharing.
JUNE
GRT Month – Gypsy, Romany and Traveller History Month
Independent Bookshop Week – celebrate with your local bookshop and find out what events they are planning
Empathy Day – launched in 2017, use books to get children to step into someone else’s shoes and develop empathy and understanding
Refugee Week – a celebration of the contribution of refugees to the UK
JULY / AUGUST
Summer Reading Challenge – send pupils off for the summer to take part in this key reading event of the year and maintain their reading over the school summer holidays.
SEPTEMBER
Roald Dahl Story Day – 13th September was Roald Dahl’s birthday, so use this as an excuse to celebrate all things Dahl-ish!
International Literacy Day – Bring the world to the school on this day (8 September), that looks at progress in eradicating illiteracy around the world Links with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
European Day of Languages – 26th September – an opportunity to celebrate all the languages spoken in your school and beyond
International Translation Day – 30 September (the feast of St Jerome, the patron saint of translators). Find out what translated books you have in your library!
OCTOBER
Black History Month (UK) – not just for October, but use this month to celebrate Black achievement and promote books by Black writers
National Poetry Day – an annual mass celebration on the first Thursday of October that encourages all to enjoy, discover and share poetry
Dyslexia Awareness Week – in first week of October
World Mental Health Day – an opportunity to explore the power of reading for mental health. See also the children’s section of the Reading Agency’s “Reading Well” programme
NOVEMBER
Anti-Bullying Week – in third week in November, a week to raise awareness of bullying and highlight ways of preventing and responding to it.
National Non-Fiction November – the Federation of Children’s Book Groups’ annual celebration of all things factual – finally a chance to look at some information books. See also Children’s Information Book Award and the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize
DECEMBER
UK Disability History Month – starts in November and runs to the end of the Autumn term, a time to advocate equality for disabled people.
Click below for blank template:
 pdf |
 excel spreadsheet |
| Month | National Events | Theme | Display | Visits – authors, illustrators, storytellers, poets | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Winter | Cold and snowy weather, picture books showing winter | Write reading diary for a month. Imagine you are in a very cold place | ||
| February | Valentine’s Day | Love stories | Design a Valentine’s Day
Card
|
||
| March | World Book Day | Posters, copies of books available | Author to celebrate world book day | Game of consequences | |
| April | Greenaway shortlist | Book display of previous winners | Design a book cover for a previous winner | ||
| May | Myths & Legends | Myths & legends | Design a bookmark as guide to library | ||
| June | Greenaway Winner | Illustration in children’s books: winner of the award this year. | The current winner’s best images – books from the library | Illustrator to discuss greenaway shortlisted books | Illustrate in the style of…(the winner or a favourite illustrator) |
| July | Summer Reading Challenge | Summer holidays | Titles from theme of reading game | Wordsearch | |
| August | Sports or Olympics | Sport stories | Make a board game to do with sport | ||
| September | *Roahl Dahl Day
Book Time *www.booktime.org.uk
|
Dahl | Books by and about Dahl. | Design a book cover for a Dahl children’s book. | |
| October | *Children’s Book Week and Family Learning Festival
Black History Month
National Poetry Day
|
*Titles from theme of book week
*Promotion of Black authors, illustrators and publishers
|
Author / storyteller / poet | *Reading tree with leaves of books read
*Displays. Children’s writing. Promotional bookmark. Link with Public Library events
|
|
| November | Ghosts and horror | Books with scary covers, horror stories | Design a poster to a scary book and the library | ||
| December | Christmas and winter festivals | Christmas / Diwali / Hannukkah and other books & decorations | Design a card |
