World Book Day was celebrated in Burnham and Highbridge on Thursday (March 5th) when a line-up of colourful costumes went on show.
‘Literary lunacy’ came to Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge on Thursday when local staff and pupils at local schools, including King Alfred School, Berrow School and Brent Knoll School joined in the fun.
World Book Day was first celebrated in the UK in 1995 and takes place on the first Thursday in March.
Since its inception the idea has spread around the world but in the majority of other countries, World Book Day is celebrated in April.
The United Kingdom’s own version of World Book Day formally began in 1998, launched by Prime Minister Tony Blair in London.
Several million schoolchildren in Great Britain were given a £1 special World Book Day Book Token which could be redeemed against any book in any UK bookshop. A specially created WBD anthology priced at £1 was also published.
Since then, World Book Day UK has followed a similar pattern, gradually growing each year to encompass more initiatives, such as Spread The Word, Quick Reads Initiative and Books for Hospitals.
Every year, the number of children receiving a World Book Day Book Token has increased.
Every child in full-time education in the UK is entitled to receive a £1 World Book day Book token every year.
They can swap their World Book Day token for one of specially-produced £1 WBD books or they can get £1 off a full-price book or audio book priced £2.99 or more.
