World Book Day

Pupils from primary schools throughout England, Scotland and Wales celebrated World Book Day on Thursday 5th March with a bundle of new books for their library, donated by the Morrisons Foundation.

The books were gifted thanks to a partnership between the Morrisons Foundation and the National Literacy Trust. Working together, the charities aim to encourage 125,000 children to discover a love of reading this World Book Day.

Every bundle of books included a copy of Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties by author and internet star Humza Arshad, who is also an ambassador for the partnership. Humza delighted pupils of Grange Primary School in Harrow by hand delivering their brand new books alongside Morrisons colleagues from Harrow and Acton.

He also gave an exciting assembly to pupils, illustrating how important it is to read and explore different stories through reading and writing, as well as telling funny stories from his own experiences and family. He then met a small group of pupils from each of the year groups who discussed what kind of books they would be interested in writing if they were to be an author.

Together, the Foundation and The National Literacy Trust have boosted the bookshelves of 492 primary school libraries with a collection of colourful, exciting and engaging new books published by Penguin Random House.

The partnership between the Morrisons Foundation and the National Literacy Trust was established following their research which shows that children who enjoy reading and use their school library perform better in school and are happier with their lives.

Jonathan Douglas, Chief Executive of the National Literacy Trust said, “We are thrilled to be working with Morrisons to bring the gift of reading to 125,000 children across the UK by getting brand new books into primary schools. School budgets are stretched, many school libraries are struggling and 1 in 11 disadvantaged children don’t have a single book of their own at home; so it has never been more important to get books into the schools that need them most. When children discover a love of reading, they do better at school and later in life, so we must do everything we can to inspire children to fall in love with reading for a lifetime.”