Home News Read Your Way—the message of World Book Day to children in Ireland

Read Your Way—the message of World Book Day to children in Ireland

Andrew Whitson, Áine Ní Ghlinn, Elaina Ryan and Seán Ó Coinn with Beau Johnston (2nd class Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Inchicore)

Read Your Way—the message of World Book Day to children in Ireland

Whether it’s a comic book, graphic novel or audiobook, all ways of reading are good ways of reading. That’s the message from Children’s Books Ireland for World Book Day, taking place this year on Thursday the 6th of March.

‘World Book Day is a moment for every child to enjoy a story,’ said CEO of Children’s Books Ireland Elaina Ryan who launched the initiative today, ‘whether they’re looking at pictures, reading a text as Gaeilge, reading braille or listening to an audiobook.’ 

World Book Day Ireland 2025 is sponsored by National Book Tokens and delivered by An Post in partnership with Children’s Books Ireland. To celebrate, €1.50 book tokens will be made available to children and families through schools, online and in bookshops to redeem for 14 specially curated titles between 13th February and 23rdMarch. 

An Post will also distribute 42,000 World Book Day books to children in need across the country, with the support of Children’s Books Ireland. Together they aim to bring the joy of reading to as many children as possible and ensure that every child is involved in the annual celebration. The books will be distributed to children in Irish hospitals, Direct Provision centres, homelessness services and Travelling communities. 

‘Read Your Way’ is a key theme of World Book Day inviting children age 0-12 across Ireland to embrace the freedom of choosing what and how they read. ‘It’s about taking the pressure out of reading and rediscovering the pure fun of it,’ said Ms Ryan. ‘We want children all over Ireland to take a moment to pick up a book or visit their local bookshop with their €1.50 book token and escape into a brilliant book.’


Beau Johnston (2ndclass) with Aine Ni Ghlinn

Ag Buzzáil sa Ghairdín by Áine Ní Ghlinn (An tSnáthaid Mhór) is one of the featured publications, a delightful rhyming tale of Billí, the hardest-working bee in the garden, brought to life by Mr Ando’s vibrant illustrations. Another is Fox & Son Tailers by Paddy Donnelly (The O’Brien Press), a charming story of a clever young fox, working in his family’s shop creating tails for creatures tall and small, and challenging how things are done.

Cassie Chadderton, CEO of World Book Day said that when children are free to explore reading and books on their own terms, many more will benefit.

Debbie Byrne, MD of An Post Retail said that An Post have had a longstanding commitment to promoting reading and improving literacy rates in Ireland.

‘We believe that reading and writing is the foundation to unlocking life’s opportunities and enabling everyone to reach their potential. We are delighted to be the official delivery partner for World Book Day in Ireland, delivering over 42,000 books to children in need across the country. By ensuring free access to books, we are helping to unlock imaginations, support learning, and create a brighter future for every child, no matter their circumstances.’

Seán Ó Coinn, CEO of Foras na Gaeilge said that they were delighted to be supporting World Book Day Ireland 2025 with the inclusion of an Irish-language book for the fourth year in a row.

‘We know that children and families will be ‘buzzing’ to read Áine Ní Ghlinn’s wonderful ‘Ag Buzzáil sa Ghairdín’, published by An tSnáthaid Mhór, which will also be available in braille & digital formats thanks to our friends at Vision Ireland. Once again, the Irish language will be at the heart of the campaign in Ireland, featuring lots of Irish-language resources and audiobooks on the World Book Day website and across social media channels. The demand for the Irish-language World Book Day title is increasing year-on-year, which is reflective of the quality and choice of Irish-language books available for young readers today. We hope that more children and families will be inspired to find their favourite Irish-language story by visiting www.loveleabhargaeilge.ie as a result of World Book Day 2025 in Ireland.’ 

World Book Day 2025 will take place on Thursday, the 6th of March 2025. Discover the full range of €1.50/£1 World Book Day 2025 titles here.