We work with World Book Day to celebrate books and reading every year, on the first Thursday in March.
Designated by UNESCO as a global celebration of books and reading, World Book Day is celebrated in over 100 countries around the world. World Book Day is a charity sponsored by National Book Tokens.
Thanks to funding from Welsh Government, we support the campaign in Wales so that young readers can take part in both Welsh and English, and to make a Welsh-language £1 book available each year.
From April 2025, this project is funded by the Curriculum for Wales Grant Support Programme, thanks to Welsh Government Education Department.
A book of your own
World Book Day promotes reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have their own book with the £1 World Book Day book tokens. By celebrating books and reading, World Book Day inspires children and families to consider themselves readers and to read together more regularly.
£1 Book Titles for 2026 (World Book Day website, opens in new tab)
The 2026 Welsh-language £1 book is Un i Ti ac Un i Fi by Aneirin Karadog. Illustrated by Matt Abbott, published by Rily.
Un i Ti ac Un i Fi – Aneirin Karadog (World Book Day website, opens in new tab)
Other £1 Welsh-language titles available for World Book Day 2026 are Gwyrdd ein Byd (Rily) by Duncan Brown, Ha Ha Cnec! (Broga) by author, illustrator and cartoonist Huw Aaron, and Darllen Gyda Cyw (Y Lolfa) by Anni Llŷn.
Taking part
Anyone can organize a World Book Day celebration! For inspiration and great ideas to celebrate reading and having fun with books, explore World Book Day’s website (opens in new tab). There are also bilingual World Book Day resources available for 2026 available for you to download.
Welsh-language £1 Books Poster (PDF)
For more information about World Book Day in Wales, you can contact us at plant@llyfrau.cymru (opens in email).
World Book Day book tokens
Thanks to the work of National Book Tokens, together with publishers and booksellers, World Book Day distributes over 15 million book tokens worth £1/€1.50 across the UK and Ireland each year through schools, nurseries, libraries, prisons and other charities. In addition, it is possible to download the one-off digital token from the World Book Day website (opens in new tab).
Tokens can be exchanged for any £1 book during the official World Book Day campaign (check the exact dates on the website) in bookshops, chain bookshops and selected supermarkets. It is also possible to use them as a contribution of £1/€1.50 towards any other book. The £1 books are also available in braille, large print and audio through the RNIB (Tel: 0303 123 999).