Bag yourself a Silent Scribble on World Book Night

Posted on April 23, 2012 by natasha

Happy World Book Night from Book Aid International!

Today is another one of those days when we celebrate the value of books. So we were trying to think of an original way to do that. A special way in which we can share the magic of books, get authors involved and give something truly lasting, both to our supporters and the communities we support in sub-Saharan Africa.

And we came up with the Silent Scribble!

The Silent Scribble is an auction in which you can own something very special: a unique and exclusive doodle artwork or catchphrase from an author who supports Book Aid International. In all, 15 fabulous authors have agreed to take part, from the master of observation, Alan Bennett, to the queen of romance, Jilly Cooper, children’s favourites Quentin Blake and Nick Sharratt. All you have to do is place a silent bid before 30 April – that gives you a week from the date of this post.

Why not see if you can bag yourself a bargain with Silent Scribble? Take a look at these highly collectible gems and see if one takes your fancy. It’s easy to make a bid: Just email your chosen lot number, bid value, name and contact details or telephone in your bid on 020 7733 3577 before 9pm on 30 April 2012.

Good luck – and happy World Book Night!


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See you at the London International Book Fair

Posted on April 14, 2012 by natasha

On 16 April it’s time once again for the London International Book Fair at Earl’s Court.

If you’re going, join us on Monday at 1pm in the Wellington Room, Earl’s Court One, Level One for our seminar, “Changing the world by giving books, time and money: How Pearson and Book Aid International work together to create real change for readers in sub-Saharan Africa.”

You can read more about the seminar, and about Pearson’s incredible support, here. Or here’s the sort of thing you can expect. This is our seminar from last year’s Fair:

Sub-Saharan Africa in the age of digital publishing from Book Aid International on Vimeo.

If you can’t make it to the seminar, you can always stop by our stand, U750, to talk about how publishers can change lives by giving books, time or money.

Enjoy the International London Book Fair!

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A little more about Children’s Book Corners

Posted on April 11, 2012 by natasha

A sense of ownership and involvement is essential if a child is to grow up with a healthy appetite for books. That’s why Book Aid International supports a number of children’s book corners: sections of community libraries given over to children’s books, education and events.

As you can see, they make a tremendous difference.

Victor, one child at the Meru library, told us: “It is in the library that I come every day after school and even during holidays with my brother to read, play, make friends and grow up as a child with lots of great ideas.”

You can stay up to date with our work with children’s book corners here.

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Getting all dressed up

Posted on March 8, 2012 by natasha

All over the UK, schoolchildren have been busy getting dressed up as their favourite book characters as part of their fundraising for World Book Day! Don’t forget, the competition runs until 2 April, and you could bag your school £100 of National Book Tokens!

So, in the meantime, here’s a small selection of some of the highlights we’ve seen so far.

Roseanna’s costume was especially well thought through, with plenty of detail! Here she is dressed as Angelica Sprocket from Angelica Sprocket’s Pockets by Quentin Blake. True to the character, you’ll see Roseanna has plenty of pockets which are filled with various items.

Like many of the children who are taking part in our dress-up competition, Roseanna loves books. She would love to be an author, and wonders if children might dress up as characters from one of her books in future. We like to think so, Roseanna!

 Here are some of the children from Alderman Swindell School in their costumes. Everything was made from a variety of materials, old clothes, fur fabrics, card and recycled boxes. Those beanstalks look particularly impressive!

And here’s Olivia, from Mosshead Primary, dressed up as her favourite book character: Saucepan Girl from Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree. We love your tin foil hat, Olivia!

Don’t forget there’s still plenty of time for your school to dress up before 2 April. It could win you £100 of National Book Tokens!

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Thank you!

Posted on March 6, 2012 by natasha

We just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your support on World Book Day 2012!

From the comments, emails, tweets and other feedback we’ve received, it seems like it was a great day for everyone involved in fundraising and celebrating the day. And there were lots of ways you went about it. These are just a few of them.

Louise raised funds through her book group.

LH Johnson organised a yummy-looking bake sale with her colleagues at the library where they work.

 As did Philippa.

And Zoe organised this fabulous competition in conjunction with the fantastic illustrator, Katie Cleminson. Um, wow!

What did you get up to? If you have a World Book Day story to tell, let us know and we’ll feature it here on the blog.

And don’t forget our fabulous competition to win £100 of National Book Tokens, which runs for almost another month. We’d love to see even more poems and costumes!

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