World Book Day 2027: 18 books for £1 and some good news for parents
The 2027 line-up includes Numberblocks, Stitch, Guinness World Records and a host of new adventures, while new figures suggest children may finally be rediscovering reading for fun.
£1 books for everyone
World Book Day has unveiled its 2027 collection of £1/€1.50 books, with 18 titles available for children to claim free using a World Book Day book token.
Next year’s event takes place on Thursday 4 March 2027 and marks the charity’s 30th anniversary, three decades after it began its mission to encourage children to read for pleasure.
And there is some welcome news ahead of the anniversary. New National Literacy Trust figures show that 36.1% of children and young people now say they enjoy reading in their free time, up from 32.7% in 2025 and the first increase since 2021.
There is still a sizeable gap to close, however. Nearly one million children in the UK do not own a book, rising to one in eight among children eligible for Free School Meals. For a quarter of children receiving Free School Meals, the book chosen using a World Book Day token was the first book they had ever owned.
What are the World Book Day 2027 books?
The collection has been divided into beginning, early and fluent reader titles, with children involved in choosing the final selection.
For younger readers, highlights include Numberblocks: The Big Blocks Party, which helps children practise recognising and counting numbers up to 10. It is also the first symbolised World Book Day title and includes additional accessibility features such as a free audiobook and signed storytelling video.
Other beginning-reader choices include This is My Music by Selina Brown, illustrated by Maxwell A. Oginni, and Norton Follows His Nose by Ken Wilson-Max.
Early readers can choose from titles including Happy Times by Emily Coxhead, Disney’s The New Adventures of Stitch, Kid Potato: Chip-tastic Tales by Neil Coslett and Astrosaurs: Turbo Time Twist by Steve Cole.
Books for everyone
Older and more confident readers are catered for too, with The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood: Bake it Till You Make It by Farhana Islam, The Adventures of Rap Kid: Story Slam! by MC Grammar, Greenwild: The Castle Under the Mountain by Pari Thomson and Jamaal Target: Mission D.N.A. by Isaac Hamilton-McKenzie among the choices.
There is also a new Guinness World Records: How to be a Record Breaker, featuring 50 challenges children can attempt themselves and stories from young record-breakers under 16.
For the first time, the World Book Day collection will also include books in Scottish Gaelic, alongside titles in Irish and Welsh.
World Book Day Executive Director Fiona Hickley said that while children’s enjoyment of reading has improved, competition for their attention remains intense, making choice central to the campaign’s approach.
The aim, she said, is to offer enough variety for children to find something they actually want to read rather than treating reading as another obligation.
For parents, that may be the most useful message of all. Whether your child is into dinosaurs, Disney, rap battles, gaming-style action, facts or fantasy, the 2027 list has clearly been designed to make choosing a book feel less like homework.
World Book Day 2027 takes place on Thursday 4 March. £1/€1.50 books can be claimed free with a World Book Day token.
