World Book Day and Quick Reads
Quick Reads are short, fast-paced books aimed at adult emergent readers. They were launched by the former Prime Minister Tony Blair on World Book Day (2 March 2006) with the aim of encouraging adults to pick up a book and develop a love of reading. The DfES works with NIACE, World Book Day, The Vital Link, the BBC, Business in the Community, TUC Unionlearn and a range of other partners to promote Quick Reads. Thousands of adults are getting into reading for the first time and many learning providers and tutors are now using the books with their Skills for Life students.
Quick Reads are back for 2008!
A new set of Quick Reads books were launched on World Book Day, Thursday 6 March 2008. A range of events to promote the initiative were held around the country, including the Prime Minister meeting adult learners at 10 Downing Street, and Minister Bill Rammell and Colin Jackson meeting learners at Wembley Stadium. To find out more about the books and how to get involved, please click here or go to www.quickreads.org.uk
To download the free Quick Reads learning resources to use in the classroom, please click here or go to http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/vitallink/Learningresources08.html
The 2008 books are:
Humble Pie Gordon Ramsey (adapted from his autbiography)
The Girl on the Platform Josephine Cox (fiction from the bestselling author)
One Good Turn Chris Ryan (an action thriller from the ex-SAS man)
Life's New Hurdles Colin Jackson (autobiography of the British Olympic medalist)
Happy Families Adele Parks (fiction from the bestselling author)
The Hardest Test Scott Quinnell (autobiography of the Welsh rugby player)
East End Tales Gilda O'Neill (a collection of childhood memories)
RaW Voices of Hardship and Hope edited by Vanessa Feltz (real life stories from people around the UK)
The Ten Keys to Success John Bird (advice on success from the founder of the Big Issue)
Doctor Who: Revenge of the Judoon Terrance Dicks (the original Dr Who author)
Quick Reads 2007
Following the success of Quick Reads in 2006, 1 March 2007 saw the launch of a brand new range of exciting titles that are easy to pick up and hard to put down. For 2007 new books were written by Ricky Tomlinson, Kerry Katona, John Simpson, Allen Carr, Adele Geras, Maureen Lee and others. Successful titles re-released from 2006 included Minette Walters’ Chickenfeed, Star Sullivan by Maeve Binchy, John Bird’s How to Change Your Life in 7 Steps and The Grey Man by Andy McNab.
We need you!
Quick Reads relies on the work of tutors, practitioners, librarians, learning reps, educationalists and others to spread the word about the campaign. Please help us bring the pleasures and opportunities of reading to all. The campaign will be backed by nationwide publicity, giving you the opportunity to get involved in local events and organise your own activities.
The Quick Reads books are:
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Written by bestselling authors and celebrities
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Compulsively readable
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Short, fast-paced paperbacks, with a maximum of 128 pages
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Available throughout bookshops, libraries and supermarkets from 1 March 2007
Free teaching resources
Free teaching and learning resources are available in print and on the web, providing ideas and activities for working with emergent readers to develop reading for pleasure using the Quick Reads titles. Developed by the Vital Link (a partnership between The Reading Agency and the National Literacy Trust) the materials compliment and extend the range of activities developed for Quick Reads in 2006.
The new 2007 materials will be available on the Vital Link website from 1 March 2007.
For the 2006 Quick Reads teaching and learning resources, please click here.
For further information, please see the following link: www.quickreads.org.uk
World Book Day 2006 and the birth of Quick Reads
Few books are targeted at adults with lower reading skills. World Book Day (WBD) therefore commissioned 24 top authors (such as Ruth Rendell, Nick Hornby, Ian Rankin and Maeve Binchy) to write special novels to be part of a collection called ‘Quick Reads’, targeted at adult ‘emergent’ readers. These exciting and fast-paced books are short and easy to read. 12 Quick Reads were launched on World Book Day on 2 March 2006, with a second set of titles lauched on 18 May in time for Adult Learners' Week. The books retail at a special price of £2.99 and are written at the reading levels of Entry Level 3 and Level 1, but designed to be best sellers and appeal to wide audiences. A £1 book token is available to adult learners and readers to encourage them to 'get hooked on books.'
Free book tokens and teaching materials
The Skills for Life Strategy Unit at the Department for Education and Skills is working with World Book Day and NIACE to broaden the reach of the Skills for Life strategy and target new audiences via:
- Distributing at least 5 million £1 off book tokens to adults, targeting people with literacy skills below Level 2;
- Assisting with the promotion of WBD and ensuring underpinning messages about the availability of free literacy courses.
- Producing and distributing free teaching and learning materials for Skills for Life practitioners which draw upon the new Quick Reads books targeting emergent readers.
You can download a printable version of the £1 book token by clicking here. [Please note that the £1 book tokens only applied to the 2006 books and are no longer available.]
Skills for Life teachers can download the free teaching resources by clicking here.
Read the DfES press notice by clicking here.
World Book Day 2006
World Book Day (WBD) is a charity set up by the publishing industry. The Prime Minister launched WBD at the Globe Theatre in 1998. WBD has since become an annual event celebrating books and opening up the benefits of reading to everyone. Each year, around 13 million £1 book tokens have been distributed to schools to encourage children to read for enjoyment and to promote reading as a basis of good education. Since 1998 around 117million tokens have been distributed.
World Book Day has traditionally been focused on children; however, in 2006 for the first time, there is a focus on adult literacy too.
Read the DfES press notice by clicking here.
For further information, please see the following link:
www.worldbookday.com/wbd2006
The books published on Thursday 2 March 2006 were:
Patrick Augustus – Don’t Make Me Laugh; Maeve Binchy – Star Sullivan; John Bird – Change Your Life in 7 Steps; Richard Branson – Screw It, Let’s Do It; Rowan Coleman – Woman Walks into a Bar; Mick Dennis and the Premier League – The Team; Tom Holt – Someone Like Me; Conn Iggulden – Blackwater; Matthew Reilly – Hell Island; Ruth Rendell – The Thief; Joanna Trollope – The Book Boy; Minette Walters – Chickenfeed
The books published on 18 May 2006 were:
Hunter Davies – I Love Football; John Francome – Winner Takes All; Tom Holland – The Poison in the Blood; Damien Lewis – Desert Claw; Val McDermid – Cleanskin; Andy McNab – The Grey Man; Courttia Newland – The Dying Wish; Mike Phillips – The Name You Once Gave Me; Gareth Roberts / Doctor Who – I am a Dalek; Danny Wallace - And the Centre of the Universe; Katherine John – The Corpse’s Tale; Lynne Barrett-Lee – Secrets
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World Book Day
