Celebrated annually in the UK and Ireland on the first Thursday in March, World Book Day aims to change lives by inspiring a love of books and reading. As well receiving free book tokens distributed by schools, children are encouraged to dress up as their favourite literary character to mark the special day – and this year, even more of them will get the chance to enjoy the fun thanks to Rubies, working in partnership with Parentkind and World Book Day, and the All Dressed Up donation scheme.
LicensingSource.net asks Fran Hales, Rubies’ head of marketing and portfolio, and Cassie Chadderton, chief executive of World Book Day, about the wide-ranging benefits of the yearly event, and how All Dressed Up is helping to make it more inclusive than ever.
First of all, can we talk about the importance of World Book Day? What was the initial spark behind it? How has it grown over the years?
Cassie: The initial spark was in 1998, when the first World Book Day in the UK set out to encourage more children and young people to read. There was a star-studded launch event at the Globe Theatre in London with Terry Pratchett and other children’s writing stars, and the then Prime Minister Tony Blair. Since then, our charity’s annual campaign has grown to be recognised by 96% of children and 85% of adults, and we’re reaching around 10 million children a year.
Today’s young people are tech savvy and spend a lot of time consuming information on screens. Why is ‘book reading’ still important? What benefits can it bring?
Cassie: Reading for fun the single biggest indicator that a child will grow up to enjoy a happier and more successful life – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational backgrounds or income. But it’s at an all-time low, with only 1 in 3 children saying they enjoy reading. So, our mission as a charity is to inspire more children to find the fun in reading by choosing what and how they read – including on screens. There’s evidence to show that when children get into reading through screens and audio books, and through comics and graphic books, they’ll read more widely by choice. Finding the fun is what unlocks all the benefits that reading brings.
Can you tell us about how you’ll be promoting All Dressed Up?
Cassie: We’re so delighted that Rubies has pledged to give 100,000 costumes to schools and children who otherwise might feel left out of dressing up – so we’ve been sharing the news via our PR activity and on social media. There are 1,600 schools involved so we’re also looking forward to seeing them unboxing their costumes and sharing the fun and excitement on social media.
It’s a delight to work with a partner that cares as much as we do about getting more children to experience the fun of reading. With All Dressed Up, Rubies has really leaned in to its commitment to supporting what World Book Day is all about.
Why is dressing up important to children’s development? What can they learn from this sort of play?
Fran: Dress-up is a unique proposition within play, as it allows anyone to dream, hope, and use their imagination by getting into character. It gives a child permission to pretend to be someone or something different, to be extraordinary. Not only that, but it can also reflect their personality and current interests and promotes more independence by allowing children to practice self-care skills.
Each time a child puts on a costume or plays with an accessory, they’re telling a story. Creating characters, imagining a scene, testing dialogue, crafting a problem, fighting an antagonist and seeking resolution are all foundational aspects of many skills.
Through dress-up, little ones can foster creativity, imagination and self-expression, allowing them to explore different identities, develop social skills, enhance language abilities through storytelling, and build empathy by taking on different roles. All of this ultimately contributes to their overall cognitive and emotional development.
We are also delighted to announce that we are part of the newly formed Every Child Deserve to Dream Collective. Believing that every child deserves the opportunity to dream, create and thrive, its mission is to nurture the boundless potential of every child by fostering creativity, inspiring hope and championing equitable access to opportunities that support personal growth, education and emotional wellbeing.
Through advocacy, collaboration, and community-driven initiatives, we are committed to building a world where all children are celebrated, supported, and empowered to dream fearlessly.
How long does Rubies’ support of World Book Day go back? What does it mean to the company?
Fran: We started a partnership over three years ago officially, with one year of not being the official dress-up partner to the charity. Between us, we have been able to build a successful partnership based on World Book Day’s charitable mission to promote reading for enjoyment, because it improves life chances. There is a mutual understanding and respect for how dress-up plays its part in supporting the mission, and to encourage more children not just to read, but to find enjoyment from it and to tell their own story.
Can you explain how the All Dressed Up donation scheme will work in practice
Fran: In December last year, Rubies pledged to donate 100,000 costumes, worth £1,000,000, to disadvantaged children who might otherwise miss out on the chance to dress up, as part of the All Dressed Up donation scheme. Today, we’re delighted to announce that we have reached our target, with 100,000 costumes requested by schools with over 25% free school meal provision across the nation.
Parentkind, one of the largest federated charities in the UK representing parents and supporting more than 23,500 Parent Teacher Associations (PTA), has played a vital part with its network of PTAs and schools in facilitating, collecting and collating the orders to successfully reach our target.
The schools receiving a dressing-up box donation are encouraged to donate £1 a costume to World Book Day, to support the charity in getting more children involved in the fun of reading all year round.
Rubies, with the support of Smiffys, which has also kindly donated costumes, is working tirelessly to ensure all the donation boxes arrive at eligible schools ready to use on World Book Day, and then remain at the schools to support children’s exploration of reading enjoyment.
How does this initiative align with Rubies’ core values?
Fran: We are thrilled and immensely proud to have been able to reach our target of 100,000 costumes donated to schools in the UK. It is testament to the hard work put in by the teams at World Book Day and Parentkind, as we come together to support underprivileged children in experiencing the magic of reading through the transformative power of dress-up.
At Rubies, we believe in the profound impact that storytelling and imagination can have on a child’s life, and we are proud to align our efforts with the charity’s mission while providing children with the opportunity to get all dressed up this World Book Day.
To make a charitable donation to World Book Day, click here.
World Book Day welcomes approaches from brands interested in working with the organisation. Contact commercial partnerships manager, Maya Maraj, at mmaraj@worldbookday.com.
