Happy Reading Together Day!
We’re excited to be supporting the very first Reading Together Day, which encourages children and families across the UK to celebrate the magical world of stories and the power of shared reading.
We’ve got something for everyone to enjoy today, no matter what your age, interests or how you most enjoy engaging with stories.
For young ones
- Take part in to our Facebook Live event at 11am where Lisa from our early years team will lead engaging chat, play and read activities linked to the classic Owl Babies picture book (Walker Books) written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Patrick Benson
- Head to Family Zone for fun things to make and do, exciting author and illustrator activities linked to popular picture books, fun videos and storytelling apps to explore together
For children aged 5 to 11
- Award-winning children’s author Tom Palmer is our author of the week! We’ve teamed up with Tom, the Premier League and Rebellion Publishing to share exciting football-themed activities, an exclusive interview with Tom and CBBC Match of the Day Kickabout presenter Ben Shires, and two free Roy of the Rovers ebooks to download. There’s also the chance for you to win a visit by the Premier League trophy for your school!
- Head to our Young Readers Story Club for a brand new storytelling video, supported by our friends at British Land. Storytellers Wendy Shearer and Alim Kamara each tell a magical story inspired by the theme of togetherness and we set children and families a fun Reading Together Day challenge!
For young people aged 13+
- Young people aged 13 and over can find reading inspiration in our Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ book lists on Zone In
- If you’re 16 and over, you can sign-up to our Behind the Cover audiobook club in partnership with Lancôme and Penguin Books UK, which celebrates writers who put women at the heart of their stories. Every month you get a free audiobook, exclusive author videos and activities to help start conversations with friends and family about the book - this month's audiobook is Becoming by Michelle Obama
Tom Palmer is our Reading Together Day ambassador!
Not only is Tom Palmer our author of the week, but he is also an ambassador for Reading Together Day. To mark the occasion, he’s written a fantastic blog for us about how his mum sparked his love of reading through football and why reading together as a family is so important.
You can also head to Tom’s website or follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more reading inspiration!
“I am thrilled to be an ambassador for the first Reading Together Day – because family reading means everything to me. I am a children’s author because my mum read football stories and newspaper match reports to me, engaging me with reading through the game I love. As a dad, I read with my daughter from baby to teenage years and, looking back, those times were some of the best. Intimate. Interesting. Inspiring. This Reading Together Day, I want to inspire more families to discover the joy of reading together as I first did – through the beautiful game.”
Tom Palmer, author and Reading Together Day ambassador
More activities to enjoy from our friends
Our fantastic Reading Together Day partners have also got lots of exciting reading activities and events for families to enjoy today. Why not check them out?
- At 8.30am, head over to The Reading Agency’s Twitter to listen to the official Summer Reading Challenge theme song, written and performed by Harry Baker and Chris Read
- At 9am, primary school children and families can join Authors Aloud UK and publisher Simon & Schuster on Zoom for a live chat and readings with author, actor and comedian Ben Miller. Ben will be talking about his new children’s book, The Boy Who Made the World Disappear, which is a hilarious out-of-this world adventure about time travel, twists of fate and troublesome black holes
- At 1.40pm, Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England, will be reading The Doves of Damascus by Ftoun Abou Kerech. Ftoun Abou Kerech, who wrote the poem aged 14 shortly after arriving in the UK, explores the sadness she felt about leaving Syria and what made it special to her
- At 6.30pm, families can join Dolly Parton as she shares some of her favourite bedtime stories for under-fives from the Imagination Library