Chapter One is joining World Book Day® on Thursday 6 March to celebrate the joy of reading and highlight the importance of helping children develop a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure.

The theme – Read Your Way – aligns perfectly with Chapter One's mission to develop fundamental reading skills and inspire a love for reading from an early age, helping to build confidence in children who might otherwise slip through the cracks. The campaign encourages everyone to let go of reading pressures and expectations, giving children both the choice and chance to enjoy reading in their own unique way.

Staff members across Chapter One are sharing on social media their personal reading journeys to inspire others and demonstrate how diverse reading experiences can be. Senior Programme Manager Lauren Foster recalls how she made a trip to the newsagents for each new edition of Sabrina's Secrets magazine. "It was great how this was the biggest magazine on the shelf because of the free gifts and Sabrina the Teenage Witch was my favourite show!" Meanwhile, Emma Bell our CEO shares how The Beano comic and the Guinness Book of World Records were for her "a refuge in jokes and facts when school got a bit much - and they helped me bond with my two brothers".

Chapter One directly addresses concerning research showing children's reading enjoyment is at its lowest levels since 2005. Our Online Reading Volunteers Programme embodies all of World Book Day's principles for fostering reading enjoyment. Volunteers meet with the same child each week, providing the regularity that builds reading habits. Through the Chapter One reading platform and our Global Free Library, children access diverse stories regardless of their circumstances. The platform offers appropriately leveled reading materials, giving children meaningful choices while volunteers serve as trusted guides to help them find books that spark their interest. Most importantly, the one-to-one sessions create a fun, pressure-free environment with dedicated time for reading.

Here are some Chapter One staff reading journey highlights - look out for more on social media!

- The Ladybird 'Read with me' series: This is how I learned to read! I loved the adventures of Tom and Kate.
- Sabrina’s Secrets magazine: We made a trip to the newsagents for each new edition. It was great how this was the biggest magazine on the shelf because of the free gifts and Sabrina the Teenage Witch was my favourite show!
- The Gruffalo: A staple story that I read many times as a teacher. I can 'read' this without needing to look at the book! Julia Donaldson books are favourites in our house.
- Farmer Duck: A university tutor read this to our class and this is where my understanding of the depth of a children’s book came from. I suddenly realised the power of listening to a story and I’ve been very fortunate to have many incredible children’s books read to me as an adult!
- The Swifts: The latest book my son recommended to me. I got so engrossed I stayed up way too late to finish it! I’m saving the next in the series for our holiday!

- Where the Wild Things Are and Goodnight Moon; books I had read to me as a child then read to my own children!
- Smash Hits and Seventeen magazines; reading with friends and putting the posters up in my room!
- Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl books; set me up with a love of stories and adventures!
- Sweet Valley High; Teen years gossiping on the bus to school and trading books to read the whole series!
- The Book Thief, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Eyre Affair; just a few of my favourite adult reads - it was very hard to choose!

- Dogger and The Tiger who came to Tea: snuggling with my Mum and siblings
- George's Marvellous Medicine: reading under the covers at night, revelling in George's daring
- The Beano and Guinness Book of World Records: a refuge in jokes and facts when school got a bit much - and they helped me bond with my two brothers
- The Ordinary Princess: a freckled, tomboy heroine (like me!)
- Death on the Nile and Little House on the Prairie: blissful hours lost in the American wilderness or trying to solve Agatha's puzzles
- The Color Purple, Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Smoky House: strong and resilient female heroines that shaped my early adolescence and teenage years
- The Handmaid's Tale and White Teeth: my 20s and exploring injustice, feminism and class
- Anna Karenina: possibly the best novel ever, redolent of the time I spent living in Moscow
- Snowdrops: my partner's Booker-shortlisted novel; it loomed large in my life for many reasons!
- Lincoln in the Bardo: a supremely powerful evocation of losing a child, I wept and wept

- Naughty Amelia Jane: my first ever hardback, I loved the feeling of opening and holding the book as it was read to me. Books were almost glued to my hands. I would get lost in them!
- Stig of the Dump, and Charlotte's Web: I still remember how tightly I gripped the books!
- The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe: At the age of 9 I stood up and read this book to my first audience. It was the first time I experienced public speaking. The magic of the words on the page helped me. Interesting how much I now love public speaking!
- The endless excitement of Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven, Famous Five, and Malory Towers, which then led on to Sweet Valley High and Smash Hits and then in later teens the more adult reads of Riders and Flowers in the Attic. These books will always be cherished for the memories of my cousin sharing her copies - as an only child this meant the world to me!
- Wuthering Heights: My A-Level copy covered in notes, pages worn, a book that I will always cherish! My teenage years with endless essays of analysis. Many times on dog walks I imagine Cathy walking over the moors.
- Shantaram: I have read this over and over again, sometimes re-reading certain sentences just to fully appreciate them! A beautiful and pivotal read.

How do you #ReadYourWay?

Join the conversation by sharing your reading journey! Don’t forget to tag us so we see your posts! We are @Chapter One UK on LinkedIn. We’re also on Instagram, Facebook and X!

World Book Day can be found at @World Book Day Charity on LinkedIn.