World Book Day: Famous faces on their all-time favourite reads
Authors and celebrities recall the children’s books they fell in love with. By Hannah Stephenson.
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Your support makes all the difference.Dressing up as a book character is a fun way to get your child into the spirit of World Book Day (worldbookday.com) on March 2.
A host of famous faces, including Sir Lenny Henry, Adam Kay and Joe Wicks, are supporting this year’s event with new limited-edition books aiming to get children and young people reading for pleasure, with help from schools, bookshops and libraries.
Popular writers and celebrities recall the children’s books that fuelled their love of reading – and could create a magical world for your kids too…
The Reverend Richard Coles
The clergyman, presenter and writer says: “It was Uncle by JP Martin and illustrated by Quentin Blake [Puffin], about an elephant who lives in a castle.
“He invited me into a world that I didn’t know existed, one of the imagination, and he’s still there now. It was full of surprise, generosity, light and shade. I just feel really glad that I made the acquaintance of that elephant.”
A Death In The Parish by Reverend Richard Coles (Orion, £16.99, available June 8)
Dame Jacqueline Wilson
The children’s author and creator of Tracy Beaker says: “I’ve always loved reading – in bed, in the bath, on a bus, or curled up in a comfy chair.
“I could barely read a sentence before I was given The Magic Faraway Tree book by Enid Blyton [Egmont] when I was five or six. I was reading fluently by the time I’d finished the first chapter.”
Project Fairy by Jacqueline Wilson (Puffin, £12.99)
Sir Lenny Henry
The actor, comedian and writer recalls: “The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe by CS Lewis [HarperCollins Children’s Books] was the first book to take me on a journey away from home deep into my imagination.
“Narnia opened up a new world for me and showed me where stories could take me. Those magical descriptions of Aslan, that evilest of villains the White Witch, and children having the most exciting of adventures are still fresh in my mind. I lost count of how many times I borrowed that book from Dudley Library.”
World Book Day Exclusive – The Boy With Wings: Attack Of The Rampaging Robot by Lenny Henry (Macmillan Children’s Books, £1)
Veronica Henry
The novelist says: “My favourite was definitely A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett [Vintage Children’s Classics]. It’s basically about a little rich girl who is sent to a posh school in London and then her father dies and loses all his money and she is sent to live in the attic.
“It was so vivid and some of the feelings she went through were so excruciating. I felt every moment of her misery, sadness and grief, but also how she was uplifted by the people around her. The message is that if you treat people well, things will turn out all right. And it has a happy ending, which is what I believe in.”
Thirty Days In Paris by Veronica Henry (Orion, £14.99, available April 13)
Adam Kay
The ex-junior doctor and author of This Is Going To Hurt says: “The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster [Essential Modern Classics] got me hooked on reading, and it’s still the best children’s book I’ve ever read.
“Brilliant characters in an amazing, surreal story; crammed full of incredible wordplay. You wouldn’t know it’s 60 years old.”
World Book Day Exclusive – Kay’s Brilliant Brains by Adam Kay (Puffin, £1)
Peter Andre
The TV personality and singer says: “We were brought up very religious, so the first book I was given was The Bible. So I never went through the traditional stage of reading children’s books.
“But through my kids I’ve been introduced to The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler [Macmillan Children’s Books]. I do remember the Mr Men books [by Roger Hargreaves/Adam Hargreaves] as a kid. My friends at school used to have them and I used to read them. I’ve introduced my kids to them, like Mr Tickle, because they make them laugh.”
Super Space Kids! Save Planet Drizzlebottom by Peter Andre (Scholastic, £7.99, available April 27)
Kelechi Okafor
The actor, director, writer and podcaster says: “I really think it was the Biff, Chip and Kipper books by Roderick Hunt [Oxford University Press] which started me off. We actually had representation in a way we didn’t see largely anywhere really.
“I love that whole world. Remembering that I was five when I got to England [from Nigeria], those books were perfect for learning and honing in on my English, and they hold such a special place in my heart. I love the accessibility and the representation that they had, even then. I shared a bedroom at the time with my younger brother and I would move my bed to the window.
“The light would be coming in from the streetlights outside but I’d have a lamp on and would be sat there, in their world. They would have certain stories where even they would go into different dimensions in the books. It was nice to consider being in another world than Peckham.”
Edge Of Here by Kelechi Okafor (Orion, £16.99, available September 14)
David Baddiel
The author, broadcaster and comedian says: “I loved Billy Bunter’s Banknote by Frank Richards [Hawk Books]. My mum, who collected children’s books, used to hand me copies of Billy Bunter stories and, from the perspective of 1970s Dollis Hill where I lived, Greyfriars, where he existed in a world of turrets and crumpets, seemed entirely magical.”
The Boy Who Got Accidentally Famous by David Baddiel (HarperCollins, £7.99)
Philippa Forrester
The TV presenter, natural history expert and author recalls: “I read tons of children’s books when I was little. I loved The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge [Lion Children’s Books]. I read that over and over.
“I think you want to be the main character. There are great adventures, there are animals, they live in a beautiful house and she creates this amazing world that you want to inhabit. That was my go-to comfort book. I also read loads of Gerald Durrell and James Herriot books when I was young. I was a voracious reader.”
Amazing Animal Journeys by Philippa Forrester (DK, £20)
Paul O’Grady
The comedian, TV and radio presenter and author says: “The first book I read was The Borrowers by Mary Norton [Puffin]. I loved it and still do, although at the time my dad wasn’t very happy when I had the floorboards up in the bedroom to see if we had any Borrowers.”
Eddie Albert And The Amazing Animal Gang: The Curse Of The Smugglers’ Treasure by Paul O’Grady (HarperCollins Children’s Books, £12.99)
Libby Page
The novelist recalls: “I loved We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury [Walker Books], which I now read with my son. The words are very simple and yet the combination of words and pictures are so magical.
“You just feel you are on an adventure, and I feel that, especially now having a young son, it’s the perfect book to get a child into reading. It’s one of the few he will sit and actually read the whole book because it has a sort of drum beat, a rhythm.”
The Vintage Shop Of Second Chances by Libby Page (Orion, £16.99)
Joanne Harris
The author of Chocolat recommends: “Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes [Gollancz] is a wonderful adventure story with some supernatural elements. I think that was the book that made me not just fall in love with reading, but with language too, because his language is fireworks – and I realised what you could do with it, finally.”
Broken Light by Joanne Harris (Orion, £20, available May 11)
The great giveaway
Children can spend their £1/€1.50 giveaway book tokens, from National Book Tokens, up to March 26. They can be exchanged for a range of limited-edition books written for the day, or used towards the cost of a full-price book.
To claim a digital token, visit worldbookday.com.