World Book Day

Our World Book Day workshops, activities, assemblies and author visits have been specially designed to help you and your pupils celebrate World Book Day 2025 by bringing your favourite books to life!

Whether you’re looking for a visit from the world's latest superhero (our very own Bookman), an opportunity to learn more about well-loved Shakespeare characters, create your own whole-school poem, or go on a magical storytelling journey in our Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog workshops, you’ll find something to suit you here.

For Primary Schools you can also purchase and download our Character Hunt and The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog World Book Day teaching packs - providing more than two hours activity for every class in the school over at www.ascreativesconnect.com

Our World Book Day workshops sell out well in advance so get in touch now to reserve your date for World Book Day 2025! 

In-person school visits

World Book Day Assemblies

Assemblies are a great way, of course, of launching your World Book Day celebrations - and ours are guaranteed to create a buzz about reading!  - so we're happy to lead whole-school assemblies at the start of a day of any of our World Book Day workshops - and all at no extra cost!

 

The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog! (Primary Schools)

World Book Day School Workshops 2023

Whatever book our friend Vistie was reading as a little girl (and she read a lot of them!), it always featured Fillolog, an extraordinary creature with an extraordinary appetite for stories. They were there in the forest, as she read of wolves, owls and eagles. They were there in the sea as she devoured tales of pirates, shipwrecks and treasure islands. And they were there in the distance as she read of adventure, action and mystery. Fillolog also had their own story to tell - but now that Vistie has got older, it’s faded to the back of her memory. And that’s where you come in! Because you and your pupils have the chance to help her by writing a unique and extraordinary whole-school story - with Fillolog at its heart!

The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog can accommodate the whole of up to a two-form entry in a single day*, comprising an interactive assembly, workshops (one per year group) and follow-up literacy activities designed to put flesh on the bones of the story.

The workshops see children participating in related and age-appropriate drama-based activities before working together to solve literary clues revealing key aspects of Fillolog’s story.

  • Nursery children (where appropriate) will be the Locksmiths - literally looking for the key to the story …
  • Reception classes/P1, the Story Openers - discovering where the adventure starts …
  • Year 1 pupils/P2 – the Explorers - will want to know where the Secret Doorway leads …
  • Year 2/P3, the Friend Makers will provide a companion for Fillolog …
  • Year 3/P4 classes will be the Questors, searching for an object vital to the success of the story …
  • Year 4/P5 pupils, the Intrepids, will need to unravel the threads to discover the problem that Fillolog and their friend will face …
  • Year 5/P6 children – the Problem Solvers – will be helping Fillolog overcome the challenge they’re faced with …
  • Year 6/P7 classes, the Bridgers, will provide a bridge to the next part of the story by finding a cliffhanger ending to the tale so far!

*The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog also exists in formats for both infant and junior schools.

Every school booking The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog will also receive a link to a package of downloadable follow-up resources – completely free of charge!

Download the Extraordianry World of Fillilog World Book Day Teaching Pack here

 

The Character Hunt! (Primary Schools)

The great characters of fiction leap off the pages of the books they inhabit and into our imaginations because their authors have taken the trouble to breathe life into them, creating fully rounded beings. And now your pupils will get the chance to do that too, in our new programme, The Character Hunt!

In a lively whole-school assembly, children will meet The Mighty Pen a writer with plenty of wonderful ideas for stories - but no characters to put in them! The Pen, will, though, introduce your pupils to some archetypes – and challenge classes, a year group at a time, to take part in workshops designed to transform those archetypes into all-encompassing characters.

EYFS / P1 will muse over The Magician – and what it is that magicians love to do …

Year 1 / P2 will have a look at The Hero – and what heroes do when they’re not being heroic!

Year 2 / P3 will investigate The Villain – just where do villains hatch their plans?

Year 3 / P4 will shed light on the Lover - do lovers always have to be so soppy?

Year 4 / P5 will consider The Clown – and what makes them laugh!

Year 5 / P6 will analyse The Athlete – and where their competitive spirit comes from …

Year 6 / P7 will go into The Geek – what do they want most in the world?

The Character Hunt can accommodate the whole of up to a two-form entry school in a single day – and is available as both an in-person and a live streamed experience. And every school booking The Character Hunt will receive a free digital download of follow-up ideas and resources.

 

A Celebration in Rhyme (Primary Schools)

Working with up to 420 children to create and perform a School Poem in just one day!

A celebration in Rhyme has been developed to help celebrate the stories your pupils love in verse - by writing and performing a collaborative School Poem in just a single day! After a quick assembly sharing our love of poetry and issuing the overall challenge, children will participate in collaborative writing workshops, usually for a year group at a time. Using our unique “RunAround” methodology, KS2 classes will choose the themes and content, creating the lines as they go - with EYFS and KS1 providing the chorus. And the outcome? A beautifully crafted poem extolling the wonder of stories that’s unique to your school - and that will get its very first performance at a second, celebratory assembly at the end of the day!

"The visit was amazing! Bookman was a fabulous start to the day with his assembly, which really caught the kids' imagination. I had staff coming to tell me they were shocked when he burst forth from the cupboard and surprised the hall. He was brilliant - and I'm especially impressed that he managed to work with children ranging from reception to Year 6s and entertained them all. It's created a great buzz around the school about reading which is brilliant in the week of world book day." (Jeavons Wood Primary)

A Visit from Bookman - Character Visit (Primary Schools)

The world’s newest superhero, Bookman has the extraordinary power of bringing stories to life – and he'll fly into your school all set to help your pupils in doing the same. Armed just with his trusty Book Bag, he'll make an unexpected appearance at an assembly before leading classes through a series of exciting, engaging and enticing drama-based workshops (all differentiated for age). And the outcomes? Connection-making, Freeze-Frames and Talking Tableaux, illustrating key narrative moments from a host of well-loved stories!

"Thank you so much for the brilliant experience given to the children on Monday. Bookman was great with the children, they all thoroughly enjoyed the workshops and the assembly in the morning. Having to be creative and use their imaginations reminded them about the enjoyment of reading." (Class Teacher, St Peter's Primary School)

"Thank you for sending 'Bookman' to Thomson House on Friday.  He was a huge hit in assembly, particularly for the teachers who hadn't read the email about his arrival and had no idea what was going on! Thomson House School

Paige Turner's Fiction Mission - Character Visit (Primary Schools)

If the characters in our favourite stories only come to life when their tales are read, what would become of them if Mr Noah Magination got his way and had all books banned? Paige Turner is on a mission to save the fictional worlds that these characters live in and she’s going to need your pupils’ help. After introducing herself at a whole-school assembly, she’ll work with a number of classes, using age-differentiated drama approaches to bring some of their favourite characters to life, exploring what it is that makes them so wonderful and what we would stand to lose if we never had the chance to meet them in the first place. This is her only hope winning over Mr Magination and guaranteeing the survival of books and stories for future generations- and that hope lies in you!

"A massive thanks for the fantastic organisation of the event. Every member of staff I have spoken to only had really  positive things to say about Zoe and her workshops. The children were engaged and excited from the start and really promoted reading which was exactly what I wanted. Look forward to hopefully using As Creatives again in the future!"

 

Scrambled Stories: The Return of Bookman/Paige Turner (Primary Schools)

Already enjoyed A Visit from Bookman or Paige Turner? Well, now you can now invite them back for 2020 with Scrambled Stories! … Your favourite book lover has a new problem this year – because their archenemy has managed to wreck some of the world’s best loved stories by changing tiny details. Imagine how dull the tale of Red Riding Hood would be if the Wolf had turned vegetarian - or how boring Jack and the Beanstalk would become if Jack didn’t get his hands on the magic beans! It’s up to your pupils to save the day, by inserting themselves into the stories and putting them back on track!

"The children loved the workshops. There was a fantastic buzz around the school and as children left their session they said how much fun the session was. Ady was so enthusiastic, passionate and positive - it was infectious!" The Willows School

CSI: Bookmark (Primary Schools)

The Book Review Competition at Little Podmore Library received record entries this year – but someone snuck in before judging was complete, and jumbled up all the entries! In a series of age-differentiated workshops, we’ll be asking your children to indulge in a frenzy of connection-making, using their knowledge of a range of well-loved tales to make sense of it all!

"Thank you for such a fantastic, creative and inspiring day. Every teacher gave me brilliant feedback and said how much the children enjoyed it.  My own class created some brilliant speech and thought bubbles and one little boy who never writes wrote three sentences and came to find me to ask if he could write more!" Hurst Green Infant School

"The children and staff thought Bookman was brilliant and the children got a lot out of the visit. Organising a workshop for the whole school can sometimes be a little stressful but working with you and the rest of your team has been really easy and organised so thank you!" Shortstown Primary

 

CSI: Reading Skills (Primary and Secondary)

Students who tell us they don’t like “reading” are always amazed when they realise quite how much skilful reading they’ve accomplished by the end of this fun and busy workshop. From inference and deduction to skimming and scanning, from previewing to predicting and from context to content, CSI: Reading Skills makes no bones in drawing connections between the everyday skills required to interpret infographics and play computer games and those required to delve into more formal texts.

Specifically designed to support students in making those connections between different ways of “reading”, CSI: Reading Skills sees them working in small teams to help out in a time of national emergency – because a briefcase containing some Top Secret plans was discovered on the 8.42 to Little Padworth, destined for an Enemy Power. The only clues to the identity of the traitor are to be found in a pile of old train tickets, recipe, book reviews and faded photographs. If “read” correctly, however, they’ll allow the pupils to discover who took the plans and why.

 

CSI: Reading Skills - The Sequel! (Primary and Secondary)

Developed by popular demand for schools who have already enjoyed and benefitted from CSI: Reading Skills, this engaging workshop sees students reacquainting themselves with the secret agents they've already investigated. This time, though, there's a plum job going - but only one of them can get it! Confronted with some of the candidates' work, students will need to recall their knowledge of famous books and authors, analyse spelling, read for context and use their powers of inference and deduction to decide which of them should be rewarded.

 

Poetry Live - (Primary and Secondary - live streamed)

These workshops last up to an hour at a time – and, as they can lead to poems on any subject of your choice, they provide a fantastic way of linking poetry to other areas of the curriculum! After being introduced to one of our favourite poems and the subject of theirs, pupils will be guided through a drama activity designed to support them in developing their ideas. Experimenting with rhyme, rhythm and pace, they’ll then get the opportunity to write and perform their own verses. 

 

Poetry Workshop - Character Clerihews (Primary and Secondary)

Clerihews are four-line, fun and descriptive poems - and so a perfect vehicle for your pupils to recall what they know of characters from the stories they love and indulge in a little speculation - all while having fun with simile, metaphor and personification! We'll show them how this poetic form works, take them through a model or two, support them as they're creating their own verses - and even give tips on performance techniques!

 

Soundscape Poetry (Primary and Secondary)

Those pupils who claim they don’t like poetry will be writing furiously at the end of this magical poetry workshop. Realising the power of “sound”, they’ll design and perform two contrasting soundscapes, working to topics/themes of your choice, and making their own compositional choices. We’ll then guide them through a structure supporting them in crafting richly descriptive poems that tell both individual and collective stories in which the writers’ choices are central.  

 

Personification Poetry (Primary and Secondary)

What if Stonehenge could tell us all it has seen over the millennia – and all it has heard, too? What if your school gates could share with us all the comings and goings they have seen for years? And what about that well-thumbed book on the library shelf? This highly imaginative and interactive workshop allows students to harvest the fruits of both their own and their classmates’ imaginations as they explore notions of empathy to construct some uniquely moving poetry.

"The workshop was absolutely fantastic! All students were  engaged and entertained and the Shakespeare workshop was suitable for all abilities which was wonderful!" Thornleigh Salesian School

"Thank you so much for a wonderful morning. It far surpassed my expectations and I know that the children really enjoyed every minute. You managed to captivate the children and truly got the best from them. The activities were perfectly pitched and I would really recommend your workshop for all as your enthusiasm for Shakespeare and great manner made it a true pleasure." Live Streamed Workshop, Reddiford School

Scenes from Shakespeare (Primary and Secondary)

Shakespeare was a superb storyteller - and his stories still survive unscathed today! These exciting workshops, though, take him back to his roots - by taking a dramatic approach to his work. Working with one of our professional drama specialists, pupils will get an actor’s-eye-view of one of his plays - and have a chance to taste the text too!

All of the workshops can be differentiated for age and require a minimum of 60 minutes (although we prefer longer) - preferably in a large space. You can choose from Macbeth, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, or A Midsummer Night’s Dream - and we’ll leave you with a whole host of suggestions for follow-up writing activities!

 

Shakespearean Clerihews – Bringing Characters Centre Stage - (Secondary)

With many of Shakespeare’s characters, it’s definitely not a case of “what you see is what you get”. So this engaging activity puts them centre stage by bringing out both the visible and the invisible. Macbeth plays the role of the loyal subject – but inside he’s a mass of seething ambition. Miranda’s not quite the innocent she lets her father Prospero think she is – while the real Bottom is far from the conceited bombast we first meet! Juliet's dreams of romance end up in tragedy – and Bottom simply doesn't know what the truth is when Titania seems to fall in love with him! This experiential workshop uses drama techniques to introduce students to characters from a play of your choice, supports them in crafting Clerihews– four line, descriptive, rhyming poems, packed with descriptive language.

 

"A huge thank you and reiterate how much we all enjoyed today! You were so inspirational and enthusiastic and the girls (and staff) absolutely loved the workshops. I am so impressed by the poems that the girls created and can’t thank you enough for teaching them the importance of Black History - I am the Diversity and Inclusion lead and so it was just music to my ears!" Surbiton High School

 

World Book Day

View our World Book Day Teaching Resources

World Book Day Resource Packages to download include ...

For those schools who would like to deliver their own whole-school World Book Day,  we’ve put together some engaging resource packages that allow pupils to enjoy and engage with our best loved character-led workshops without them ever having to set foot inside school. Each one provides two - three hours of activity for every class from EYFS to Year 6/P1 – P7, and comes complete with introductory and celebratory films. 

 

The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog

Whatever book our friend Vistie was reading as a little girl (and she read a lot of them!), it always featured Fillolog, an extraordinary creature with an extraordinary appetite for stories. They were there in the forest, as she read of wolves, owls and eagles. They were there in the sea as she devoured tales of pirates, shipwrecks and treasure islands. And they were there in the distance as she read of adventure, action and mystery. Fillolog also had their own story to tell – but now that Vistie has got older, it’s faded to the back of her memory. And that’s where you come in! Because you and your pupils have the chance to help her by writing a unique and extraordinary whole-school story – with Fillolog at its heart!

The pack comprises of; an opening assembly, followed by workshops (one per year group) and a closing assembly, all led by Vistie. There are also follow-up literacy activities designed to put flesh on the bones of the story.

Find out more at www.ascreativesconnect.com/product/the-extraordinary-advenutures-of-fillolog/

 

The Character Hunt

The great characters of fiction leap off the pages of the books they inhabit and into our imaginations because their authors have taken the trouble to breathe life into them, creating fully rounded beings. And now your pupils will get the chance to do that too, in The Character Hunt!

The children will meet The Mighty Pen a writer with plenty of wonderful ideas for stories - but no characters to put in them! The Pen, will, though, introduce your pupils to some archetypes – and challenge classes, a year group at a time, to take part in workshops designed to transform those archetypes into all-encompassing characters.

Both packages offer fantastic value for money and are available to download from www.ascreativesconnect.com/product/the-great-character-hunt/

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