World Book Day 2025 – Read your way
It's World Book Day time again and this year's theme is 'Read Your Way'. We believe every child's relationship with a book should be as unique as they are, with every disabled or seriously ill child able to experience books and stories their way.
Embracing diversity in reading
Reading is so much more than just marks on a page. It’s a way to explore, a window to new worlds, adventures and understanding.
For children with visual impairments, the huge wealth of audiobooks now available have supplemented traditional Braille and large print. Tactile illustrations enable people with a visual impairment to experience a picture, using raised lines and textures.
Audiobooks are also a great tool for many neurodivergent children. Whether it’s accessing stories while maintaining movement or having auditory input to meet a sensory need, listening to a well-told tale ticks so many boxes.
For autistic children, a calm environment with some sensory-friendly resources can provide a welcome opportunity to regulate and immerse themselves in a book.
A social story can help children with additional needs gain a greater understanding of how the world works, giving them a visual heads-up of what a trip out, or a family gathering, will entail. Sarah tells us that creating a social story for her son, Cameron, means, “he has less meltdowns and is less unsettled. It’s so helpful for him.”
Story sacks incorporate visual aids and sensory items that can bring stories alive for all children and are particularly useful for children with additional needs. Many libraries lend out story sacks, or you can even make them at home.
The importance of ‘being seen’
More than ever, books are featuring a wider range of characters, including disabled people. This plays a crucial role in helping children feel seen and understood. The National Literacy Trust’s Reading Trends Report 2023 states that one in three children and young people aged eight to 18 said that being given books or having books that represent them would make them want to read more.
When children recognise themselves in stories they read, it boosts their self-esteem and encourages a sense of belonging and validation. Inclusive stories empower young people by showing them that their experiences matter. Stories with a wider representation of lived experiences are also vital in encouraging all readers to be empathetic and understanding – with the goal of creating a more inclusive society.
Our top picks
We’ve put together some great books that come highly recommended by parents and kids. We hope you like them too!
Wiggles, by Clare Zuchelli Romer
suitable from age 1. A great book to introduce children to reading through words and touch.
Can Bears Ski, by Raymond Antrobus and Polly Dunbar
Suitable for age 3 to 7. A book about hearing loss, based on the author’s childhood memories.
What happened to YOU?, by James Catchpole and Karen George
Suitable for age 4 to 8. This story conveys an important message about how to handle questions to do with being disabled.
Just like me: 40 neurologically and physically diverse people who broke stereotypes, by Louise Gooding
Suitable for age 9 and up. Real life stories of people who did the unexpected.
The Awesome Autistic Go-To Guide: A practical handbook for autistic teens and tweens, by Yenn Purkiss and Tanya Masterman
An affirmative guide for young autistic people, written by authors who both have lived experience. Suitable for age 9 and up.