Reading resources Introducing the World Book Day 2023 books Fantastic books by some really cool authors for just £1, or FREE with the World Book Day tokens given out at school - what's not to love we hear you say! World Book Day gives every child the chance to buy a book of their choice with a £1 book token, gifted to all children through their schools. But sadly, there are some children who, for whatever reason, have decided they don't like books, don't need books in their lives or who simply don't want to be anywhere near books or reading - which is a shame when there are so many wonderful World Books Day £1 books, with fantastic authors and super illustrations just waiting for them to take home. So, because at Coram Beanstalk we know all about trying to engage children who are 'switched off' to reading, the team at World Book Day asked us to come up with a few clever ideas to open the door to each book, before a child even has to open the front cover. And who knows, they might just want to take a closer look afterwards! Take a look at the selection of wonderful books available this year and download the activity sheets for each book to help the children you read with enjoy it even more... Billy's Bravery Written by: Tom Percival Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books Billy absolutely LOVES Nature Girl. She’s his favourite superhero EVER! He has read all the books, seen all the cartoons, and he’s even got his own Nature Girl costume! So when World Book Day comes round, Billy knows exactly who he wants to dress up as. Then Billy hears a nasty voice in his head. What if he looks silly? What if his friends make fun of him? Going out in a costume can be scary, even if you are dressed up as your favourite character in the whole world. Can Billy be as brave as Nature Girl? A reassuring and uplifting book about finding your courage – the perfect springboard for talking about anxiety with little ones. Be open, be honest, be you! Big Bright Feelings for little people. Download the activity sheet Bedtime for The Burpee Bears Written by: Joe Wicks Illustrated by: Paul Howard Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books The Burpee Bears love to have fun – and that includes bedtime! From trying to brush their teeth without squirting toothpaste everywhere, to putting on their pyjamas the right way round, there’s certainly a lot keep everyone busy. But the best part of all is settling down together for quiet time before they finally close their eyes. Global fitness phenomenon Joe Wicks invites you to join this delightful bear family in a fun-filled story of the ups and downs of everyday life. Including fabulous exercises and recipes, perfect for sharing! Created by Joe, with the story co-written with acclaimed author Vivian French, and gloriously illustrated by stellar artist Paul Howard. Download the activity sheet Lifesize creepy crawlies Written by: Sophy Henn Publisher: Red Shed, Farshore Come on an adventure to discover how YOU measure up against some of the world’s most incredible LIFESIZE creepy crawlies – from the teeny tiny to the absolutely gigantic! Download the activity sheet You choose your adventure Written by: Pippa Goodhart Illustrated by: Nick Sharratt Publisher: Puffin (Penguin Random House Children's) Welcome to your adventure! What will you wear? Where will you go? Who would you like to meet on the way? Go on . . . YOU CHOOSE! Discover a different story every time with this magical storytelling toolkit – let your imagination run wild! Download the activity sheet Dave Pigeon: Bookshop mayhem Written by: Swapna Haddow Illustrated by: Sheena Dempsey Publisher: Faber Dave Pigeon and his trusty sidekick, Skipper, are on the hunt for biscuits, as per usual. Biscuits and good stories. Where better to go than a bookshop? Surely there’ll be a healthy supply of both… Only, pigeons aren’t exactly welcome in bookshops. Feather-flapping chaos ensues with inevitably hilarious results! A laugh-out-loud story featuring a much-loved character, Dave Pigeon, which promotes a love of bookshops and their Human Booksellers and encourages children to get reading. With funny black and white illustrations throughout, this is perfect for emerging readers. Over 70,000 copies of the series sold so far! Download the activity sheet Marvel Spider-man the amazing pocket guide Written by: Catherine Saunders Publisher: DK Become an expert on all things Spider-Man with this bitesize pocket guide!Discover everything you ever needed to know about Spider-Man and the Spider-Verse! Is Spider-Man speedier than Spider-Ham? Who has more fighting skill, Venom or Vulture? Pick up this Pocket Guide and you’ll have all of these Spidey facts and more at your fingertips. Download the activity sheet The boy with wings: Attack of the rampaging robot Written by: Lenny Henry Illustrated by: Keenon Ferrell Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books An Ordinary Kid on an Extraordinary Adventure Tunde Wilkinson is an ordinary kid. He has awesome friends, sometimes embarrassing parents and needs to be careful his wings don’t get in the way on the football pitch. Wait…wings? Oh yeah, Tunde is also a secret superhero. When a new kid starts at his school and is better than him at everything, not even Tunde’s friends seem on his side. Does this new kid have a connection to the shady Facility? And can Tunde figure it all out before an evil robot destroys their town? Take flight with Tunde in this exciting new Boy With Wings adventure! Download the activity sheet A dragon realm adventure Written by: Katie & Kevin Tsang Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books Twelve-year-old Billy Chan and his friends each share a bond with a dragon. When new dragons fall from the sky into the Human Realm, the group join forces to reunite them with their lost egg. But the Dragon Realm is filled with dangerous golden elixir, magical creatures and threats lurking round every corner. Can our heroes accomplish their mission, or will they fall at the last hurdle? Download the activity sheet The strangeworlds travel agency: Adventure in the floating mountains Written by: L.D. Lapinski Publisher: Hachette Children's Group It is the once-every-century Cloud-Wish Festival in the magical world of Strofadia, and Flick and Jonathan have travelled there from the Strangeworlds Travel Agency via suitcase to be a part of it. Strofadia is a land of flight and fantasy. It is centred around three floating mountains, the largest of which is the home of the great Cloud Dragon. At the end of the Cloud-Wish festival, the Cloud Dragon will appear to grant the wishes from the people of Strofadia – wishes it has been guarding for the last one hundred years. But when the moons rise at the end of the festival, there is no sign of movement from the mountain. Will Flick and Jonathan be able to find their way through the mountain to the Cloud Dragon and save the festival from disaster? Download the activity sheet Kay's brilliant brains Written by: Adam Kay Illustrated by: Henry Paker Publisher: Puffin (Penguin Random House Children's) One hundred billion people have lived on earth. Unfortunately, this book would be too heavy if it talked about them all, so it’s only about ten of them. They were all just ordinary people like you and me who were sitting around scratching their bums and wondering what time dinner was going to be ready, when one day they thought ‘Oh, I’ve got an idea’ and suddenly changed the world forever. You might have heard of some of them. Like Ada Lovelace, who invented computer programming two hundred years ago. (But was banned from going into libraries.)Or Thomas Edison, who invented movie cameras and lightbulbs and how to record music. (But only went to school until he was twelve.)And Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across a huge ocean, back in the days when planes were made of bits of old wood and looked like they might fall apart any second. (And worst of all, they didn’t have in-flight movies.) Containing 4,523,825 facts (this is a guess), KAY’S BRILLIANT BRAINS is written and illustrated especially for World Book Day 2023 by the record-breaking Adam Kay and Henry Paker. It’s a hilarious celebration of ten of the world’s most ingenious geniuses and all that their brilliant brains achieved. Download the activity sheet Boot it! Written by: A. M. Dassu Illustrated by: Zainab 'Daby' Faidhi Publisher: Old Barn Books Sami and Ali dream of playing for the school football team. They practise in the park every day and work hard on their skills.But acing the trials is the last of the boys’ worries when they’re made to feel they don’t belong on the team because of the colour of their skin. Ali just wants to tackle the ball on the pitch. Now he’s being forced to tackle the racism in his team too.But how can he, when he’s told it’s ‘just banter’? Download the activity sheet Being a ally: Real talk about showing up, screwing up and trying again Written by: Shakirah Bourne (she/her) and Dana Alison Levy (she/her) (Co-editors) Publisher: DK Everyone can be an ally. As an ally you use your power – no matter how big or small – to support others. You learn, and try, and mess up and try harder. In this collection of true stories, YA authors get real about being an ally, needing an ally and showing up for friends and strangers. These authors share their truths and invite you to think about your own experiences and choices – and how you can be a better ally. There are no easy answers, but this book helps you ask better questions. Because we’re all in this together. And we all need allies. Download the activity sheet One stormy night* *Only in Ireland Written by: Alma Jordan Illustrated by: Margaret Anne Suggs Publisher: The O'Brien Press It’s the beginning of a new year on Hazel Tree Farm, and with it comes a burst of new life. Peter helps Dad to bring baby lambs into the world, while his sister Kate falls in love with next door’s fluffy chicks – and one in particular! But something is wrong with sheepdog Peg, and one stormy night, she runs away. Through wind and rain, the children race to find her before it’s too late. Download the activity sheet Rita agus an dragún* *Only in Ireland Written by: Máire Zepf Illustrated by: Mr Ando Publisher: An tSnáthaid Mhór Is cailín beag í Rita a bhfuil smaointe móra aici. Nuair a éiríonn sí crosta, samhlaíonn sí go bhfuil dragún fíochmhar feargach aici a chuirfeadh an domhan ar crith. Ach is féidir tine the na feirge a cheansú, agus tá a fhios ag Rita cén dóigh lena dhéanamh. Rita is a little girl with big ideas. When she becomes cross, she imagines she has a ferocious angry dragon who would make the world shudder. But the hot fire of anger can be tamed, and Rita knows how. Download the activity sheet Gwisg Ffansi Cyw* *Only in Wales Written by: Anni Llŷn Publisher: Y Lolfa Llyfr arall yn y gyfres Stori Cyw. Llyfr byr, syml, llawn lliw, am Cyw a’i ffrindiau. Another title in the popular ‘Cyw’ series. A colourful book with a short, simple text about Cyw and her friends. Manage Cookie Preferences