Celebrating world book day

World book day is a literary event that`s celebrated annually across the world on the 23rd of April. Also known as World Book and Copyright Day, or International Day of the Book, it was inaugurated in 1995, being set up by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in order to promote reading.

The UK and Ireland actually celebrate the event on the 5th of march, having moved the date in order to avoid clashes with both St George`s day and the Easter school holidays. On world book day every child in full time education is presented with a voucher that they can spend on any book they choose. Prime minister Tony Blair launched the UK world book day in 1998, during an event held at the Globe Theatre in London, with millions of children throughout the country being gifted a £1 token which could be redeemed in any bookstore.

World Book day is a registered charity, and has taken on the commendable mission of providing every child in the world with a book of their own. Some people might think this is a task that has already been fulfilled many times over, as a typical child`s bedroom may have shelves crammed with dozens of books. The truth however is that books are a luxury that many families simply cannot afford, and in poorer countries many children are in danger of growing up to be illiterate. A study compiled by the world bank and the UN revealed that more than half of all ten year olds, born to low and middle class families in the world`s poorest countries, lacked basic literary skills.

The ambitious `millennium development goals` project was created to tackle and overcome this literary crisis, and following its mandate the World Bank has set up a new objective, planning to cut `learning poverty` to 50% by 2030 - a formidable goal perhaps, but one it has called `ambitious, yet achievable.`

On World Book day it is customary for schoolchildren across the world to celebrate the books they love by dressing up as one of their favourite characters from literature. If you are walking down the street and happen to see Gandalf the wizard, Huckleberry Finn or Long John Silver, don`t be surprised! Just relish the sight, and appreciate how another generation of children are falling in love with books and their infinite array of fantastical characters.

Actually my list of fictional characters are perhaps a little archaic, and unlikely to make an appearance; and after consulting with my children I found the following literary personalities more likely to be chosen by children:

Willy Wonka.

Who could forget the eccentric leading character from Roald Dhal`s Charlie and the Chocolate factory? Seeking a successor to take over the running of his factory, Willy Wonka hides five golden tickets in chocolate bars across the country. Five children gain admittance to the mysterious factory, but only one of them will overcome the challenges within, and claim the ultimate prize.

Gandalf.

A major character in the Hobbit, and the three Lord of the Rings books, Gandalf is a sagacious wizard, who joins a band of elves and hobbits on a series of quests throughout `middle earth,` a place teeming with dragons and goblins, along with a force of supreme evil that must be overcome.

Harry potter.

It is inevitable that Mr potter would be included on this list, and with the next generation of children being just as enthralled by the young wizard and his adventures, it seems he`s character that`s going to be around for a while.

The gruffalo.

During a walk through the woods, a mouse encounters a number of predacious adversaries, including a fox, an owl, and a snake, each of which intends to consume the rodent. The wise mouse shrewdly evades their appetite by telling each of them it is on the way to meet a friend called a gruffalo, whose favourite food happens to be a fox, an owl, or a snake - whichever animal happens to be poised to make a meal of him at that moment. The mouse frightens away each predator by describing, in fearsome detail, the features of the gruffalo, a creature he believes he is inventing, until he happens to meet the beast from his imagination deep in the woods. The mouse saves himself from being a quick meal by duping the gruffalo into thinking he possesses great strength, with the creature coming to believe this as it observes how the fox, the owl, and even the snake flee from them as they walk back through the woods. The mouse then turns on the gruffalo, who runs away into the forest.