Celebrating World Book Day at Sunny Days

Here at Sunny Days, we’re big fans of World Book Day - in fact, it’s one of our favourite events of the year. It’s a special day spent gathered around bright, beautifully illustrated books, sharing wonderful stories packed full of adventure, larger than life characters, and pearls of wisdom.

Our dedicated staff will always focus on the true meaning of the day: celebrating authors and the incredible tales they tell, enriching the lives of children everywhere.

At each of our nurseries, the day was spent enjoying magical stories and having plenty of fun. From the Gruffalo to fairytales we all know and love, everyone brought along a book they couldn’t wait to share, and, of course, there were some amazing outfits!

The importance of reading

The mental, emotional, and economic benefits of reading from an early age are undeniable. Time and time again, researchers have demonstrated the link between reading for pleasure and strong academic performance, good mental health, and the development of empathy.

We’re committed to cultivating a love of reading in all of the children at Sunny Days. Unlike watching TV, reading is not a passive activity. Children have to concentrate on the story they’re reading or hearing, visualising the characters, settings, and more, through the power of imagination alone.

According to the Book Trust, evidence points to a positive relationship between the enjoyment of reading, reading frequency, and a child’s educational success. Reading is a core activity at all of our nurseries; we encourage our children to share and ask questions about stories, getting them started on their literary journey.

Sharing stories

It’s never too early to start sharing stories and books with your little one. Evidence suggests that children can recall the sounds of language from an early age - even prenatally!

As highlighted by the Book Trust, young children benefit the most from book sharing, rather than solo reading, so World Book Day was the perfect excuse to spend even more time exploring the stories our little ones love.

Activities included discussing how to take care of treasured books, thinking about how illustrations can be used to interpret narratives, and the structure of stories - why we have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

We role-played Goldilocks and the three bears, made masks and had fun discovering different textures in the Bear Hunt story (especially the swishy swashy grass!). Over at our Lickhill Road nursery, we were treated to a reading from a Sunny Days parent who’s fluent in Polish - thank you, Mrs Mleczko!

Enjoying stories together helps to develop little ones’ social skills, foster bonds, and grow their interest in reading. It encourages children to really engage with books, asking questions about word meanings and elements of stories.

Reading with children also helps to…

Aid cognitive development - by reading to little ones, their understanding of language and the world around them begins to deepen.

Create open-minded individuals - when children hear a story, it spirits them away to new worlds and places, putting them in different characters’ shoes; by experiencing events from a new perspective, children learn to identify and empathise with other people’s feelings.

Strengthen literary skills - reading aloud together helps children become confident readers by encouraging interaction with books and building their vocabulary.

Enjoying books with your child

We know how hard it is to juggle a busy schedule, but sparing a just a little time to read with your child can make a huge difference. Your enthusiasm for reading will be infectious; persevere and, in time, you’ll find a story your little one loves. From there, you can cultivate a brilliant reading habit - one that will last a lifetime.

If you’d like to borrow any of our books, or take home one of our special story sacks, which include books, props and puppets, please just ask.

Better yet, you’re not alone, because we’re here to help. Whether it’s World Book Day or any other day of the year, you can rest assured that we’ll always be dedicated to the wonder, wisdom, and magic of books - not screens!