World Book and Copyright Day

April 23 is UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day. A March book day used in the United Kingdom is a different observance.

The next date is April 23, 2027. Dates follow Mountain Time, America/Denver. Stories below are from the archive.

How to take part

Free and safe. No fee, no student email, and no trip taken alone.

Borrow a book, or return one so someone else can borrow it.
Read aloud for ten minutes with a child or a classmate.
Leave a book you own in a Little Free Library and take one only if you will read it.

A short prompt for a teacher to use with children. This page is for adults.

Each student recommends one library book in a single sentence. Swap books the school already owns. Do not require a purchase.

More stories a teacher can read aloud are in the Kids section.

Katlehong, South Africa

A literacy partnership handed the school in Gauteng its library on October 27. The project says it now reaches about 125,000 learners a day.

Verified · Engineering News

Reading, United Kingdom

Since the library moved to the Civic Centre in June, Reading Borough Council says 2,700 people have joined and about 42,000 books have gone out.

Verified · BBC

La Plata, Maryland

About 100 children's books from the Charles County Public Library now sit in a social services office in La Plata, and young visitors may keep them.

Verified · The Southern Maryland Chronicle

Esposende, Portugal

On International School Library Day, the town inaugurated rebuilt libraries at EB de Esposende and EB do Barral in Palmeira de Faro.

Verified · O Diário de Portugal

Five true, uplifting stories in your inbox at 6 a.m. It takes two minutes to read and it sets the tone for the whole day.

Free, every dayUnsubscribe anytimeWe never sell your email