Getting Kids Reading

Great Ideas to Celebrate National Read A Book Day

National Read A Book Day is celebrated every year on September 6th. On this day, everyone is encouraged to set aside some of their busy life and pick up a new book to read. Unlike Read Across America Day in March, this holiday encourages people of all ages to celebrate reading and spend some time focusing on promoting literacy in their community and in their own lives.

To celebrate National Read a Book Day, try out some of these fun activities to do alone or with friends and family:

  • Volunteer at a local library with special National Read A Book Day events or work with an ongoing program that promotes literacy. You can read a book at the children’s storytime, facilitate a book discussion group, or just help reshelve books. Libraries are always in need of helpers, and by contributing you can build literacy and a positive relationship with books in your community!
  • Donate new or used books to a local library, school, hospital, youth center, or homeless shelter. Books are always a popular item for those in need. Bring along a variety of books ranging from board books to adult literature so everyone gets a chance to participate in the fun! You can even solicit donations from local bookstores or friends and family to increase the size of your donation.
  • Set up a Little Free Library! Little Free Libraries are simple enclosed bookshelves that you can set up outside at your home, school, or work. Passerbys can take a book or leave a book for the rest of the community to use at their leisure. It’s a great way to promote literacy and build community at the same time!
  • Attend an author event or book signing at a local independent bookstore. Local authors always appreciate the support they receive at these events, and independent bookstores are a great place to find new reads and build relationships with other readers in your community.
  • Start a book club with some friends, or reach out to try and recruit some new faces! A standard book club is fun enough on its own, but creating a book club themed around a special genre or interest is sure to build fun and fascinating conversations while encouraging everyone to read together. Try having a murder mystery, science fiction, or historical biography book club.
  • Purchase some books as gifts for family and friends. A book thoughtfully chosen is one of the best gifts someone can receive! If you have a child in school, consider bringing a selection of books for the class to take home or share in a read-aloud. Make sure to pick up your gifts from a local independent bookstore to support your community while you’re shopping!
  • Give other literacy-based presents, such as bookshelves, to those closest to you. Having high-quality and well-designed bookshelves is especially important for children to ensure they have a meaningful reading experience. Other book-related presents might include a beautifully designed bookmark or a subscription to a book of the month club.
  • Organize a fun activity for your school or workplace based on a special book. For a child’s classroom, picking a well-loved children’s book like Cat in the Hat to focus on a spirit day like Silly Hat Day can develop a great love for reading. In an office, you can decorate the wall of the break room with book recommendations from everyone in the office, or serve literary-themed snacks at lunch hour!

However you choose to celebrate the day, making room in your life for more reading and literacy is always going to reward you tenfold. By participating in events like National Read A Book Day you not only have a chance to improve your life with more reading, but also to build a stronger community among yourself, your family, your child’s school, and your work.

Celebrate National Read A Book Day by getting your child a Tidy Books bookshelf. Tidy Books shelves are beautifully designed to give your child a more engaging reading experience that gives them more autonomy over their own literary world. Check out our variety of shelving options here.

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About Géraldine Grandidier

Géraldine is Tidy Books’ founder, designer and CEO, as well as mum to Adele and Emile. She started Tidy Books in her violin workshop because she couldn’t find a good bookcase for her kids. Now her Tidy Books bookcases and storage designs are encouraging independence and a love of reading in kids all over the world.

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