The calendar is full of reading “holidays, days set aside specifically to celebrate books, literacy, and even various literary genres. For school districts, these special days present excellent opportunities to promote literacy and engage the school community.
We know what you’re thinking. Am I going to have to make more room for parties and parades in my already packed school schedules? The answer is an unequivocal “no.”
Simply adding these days, weeks, and even month-long celebrations to the district or school calendar is often enough, and it’s a low lift way to signal to the entire school community that your district is a place where literacy is both valued and prioritized.
Which of these holidays deserves a place on the calendar? We took a look at the most popular dates for celebrating literacy to help district and school administrators sift through the noise.
From the dates of these reading holidays to add to your calendar to ideas on how to celebrate in the classroom, here’s what you need to know.
September Reading Holidays
National Literacy Month
When: All of September
September is National Literacy Month (not to be confused with National Reading Month or National March into Literacy Month, both of which are celebrated in March). Scheduled for the start of the school year, marking this “reading holiday” on your district or school calendar is a great way to set the tone for the school year.
Looking for some ideas to share with your instructional staff?
We asked Sara Twaddell, a senior literacy specialist at Ignite Reading, to share one of her favorite National Literacy Month activities from her classroom.
“I used to highlight the National Book Festival and a few of their featured authors with my students,” Twaddell recalls. “Their posters are collector items/hot commodities in the DC area, and they also have links to recordings of some of their sessions that are fun to watch if there’s a favorite author you want to hear speak.”
Sponsored by the Library of Congress, the Book Festival has captured plenty of kids’ favorite authors, but if you’re looking for one to get you started, why not try this recording of Dav Pilkey of Dog Man and Captain Underpants fame presenting his book Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls?
“[It] was a legendary one for my kids,” Twaddell recalls.
More Helpful Educator Resources
- Educators can download free PDFs of National Book Festival posters to decorate the hallways.
- Tune into the recordings of some of kids’ favorite authors on the National Book Festival YouTube channel.
Library Card Sign-Up Month
When: All of September
Sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), this September celebration presents a perfect opportunity for your school district to partner with local libraries to encourage students and families to get library cards.
Do you have a back to school night or meet the teacher night on the calendar? Consider asking a library representative to set up a table to speak with families about the myriad resources they can access for free at the local library.
Helpful Educator Resources
- The ALA provides ready-made promotional materials each year, making implementation relatively easy for districts and schools.
Read a Book Day
When: September 6
Read a Book Day is simple to implement — all you have to do is encourage students to read a book — but with no sponsoring organization, the grassroots “holiday” lacks structured resources for districts to use.
A simple mention of the date on the morning announcements is a low-effort reminder to prioritize reading and encourage teachers to share favorite books with students.
Read More: Learn Educators’ 4 Secrets to a Strong School Reading Culture
International Literacy Day
When: September 8
Already planning to mark National Literacy Month in September? Your school will be ready for International Literacy Day when it comes around on September 8.
Sponsored by UNESCO, this reading holiday has been celebrated annually since 1967, focused on raising awareness of the importance of literacy as a fundamental human right and a foundation for learning.
Banned Books Week
When: Date varies — may happen in late September or early October
Since 1982, Banned Books Week has been sponsored by a coalition that includes the ALA, American Booksellers Association, and others.
The week-long September event provides its highest value on middle and high school calendars as a means to provide teachable moments about intellectual freedom.
Helpful Educator Resources
- The ALA provides free ready-to-download informational posters and shareables about historically banned books.
- Educators can use the Celebrate Banned Books Week Handbook for free to find programming ideas, events, and tips for teaching about censorship.
October Reading Holidays
National Book Month
When: All of October
District calendars are already packed in October with Halloween, Red Ribbon Week, Fire Prevention Week, and more, which makes it hard to justify adding this month-long celebration into the mix.
Consider instead using the month as a chance to remind staff of the various educator resources they may be able to procure from the holiday’s sponsor, the National Book Foundation, throughout the school year.
Dictionary Day
When: October 16
Falling on the birthday of Noah Webster, creator of the first American dictionary, Dictionary Day is an unofficial event with no sponsor. The day is an opportunity to celebrate language and the importance of dictionaries.
One idea to share with teachers?
When we asked Madison Butler, an Ignite Reading senior literacy success partner, how to celebrate, she shared her students’ loved Dictionary Day scavenger hunts.
These scavenger hunts can be customized based on grade-level and ability, and can include fun word-based clues, like “Find a word with more than seven letters,” or dictionary skills-based challenges, like “Find a verb that starts with the letter ‘T’.”
Helpful Educator Resources
- The Dictionary Project supplies free dictionaries to schools.
November Reading Holidays
National Picture Book Month
When: All of November
Founded by author Dianne de Las Casas, National Picture Book Month is simple to celebrate in schools: All you need to do is set aside time to read picture books.
This could be the perfect literacy celebration to honor in the days before Thanksgiving when the madness of Turkey Day throws the regular academic calendar for a loop.
National Family Literacy Month
When: All of November
National Family Literacy Day
When: November 1
The non-profit National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) has been sponsoring National Family Literacy Month and its kick-off — National Family Literacy Day — since 1994. The celebration is designed to foster family literacy, an invaluable element of a child’s reading development.
Each year the foundation chooses one teacher to receive the Family Literacy Teacher of the Year award. Awardees are described as educators “who use a strong multigenerational approach to learning and focus on building effective family-school partnerships that support student learning outcomes and school improvement.” Past winners have included teachers from various Ignite Reading partner schools and districts, including Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California and Enlace Academy in Indianapolis.
Your district can nominate a champion in your schools for the award as well as engaging in efforts to foster family literacy.
Helpful Educator Resources
- The NCFL offers a host of educator resources from webinars to toolkits and more.
December Reading Holidays
Read a New Book Month
When: All of December
There’s some debate over whether Read a New Book Month takes place in December or September. The good news is that there’s never a bad time to read a new book.
Acknowledging Read a New Book Month can be as simple as encouraging students to try books in a different genre than what they normally read or read a book about something they’re totally new to, like cooking or birdwatching.
For something unique, a book Bingo card could be a fun and customizable way to send kids on new reading adventures all month long.
January Reading Holidays
National Thesaurus Day
When: January 18
Honoring the birthday of Peter Mark Roget, the creator of the modern Thesaurus, National Thesaurus Day is a fun opportunity to reinforce knowledge of synonyms and antonyms.
Younger kids might enjoying helping teachers create a synonym word wall or matching blocks with different synonyms taped onto them. Older kids might get a kick out of using a Thesaurus to swap words in the titles of popular books and songs, then seeing if others in the class can figure out the originals.
Helpful Educator Resources
- We Are Teachers curated a list of synonym and antonym activities for all ages.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day
When: The Last Thursday in January
Multicultural Children’s Book Day was created in 2012 by reading advocates Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, with the goal of helping kids discover books that celebrate diversity and inclusion. Now, their non-profit organization, Read Your World, promotes diverse literature year-round.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day is celebrated on the last Thursday of January (or on the last Wednesday, if Thursday conflicts with Holocaust Remembrance Day). Marking the occasion is as easy as introducing classes to new reads with diverse characters. Encourage staff to get recommendations from the school librarian.
Helpful Educator Resources
- Read Your World offers free book-based classroom kits and activity lists to help incorporate a wide range of stories and perspectives into lesson plans.
February Reading Holidays
World Read Aloud Day
When: The First Wednesday In February
Here’s a chance to share the love of reading out loud. The first Wednesday of the month is LitWorld’s World Read Aloud Day, a day dedicated to promoting global literacy through the joy of spoken word reading. Educators can celebrate the day with virtual read-alouds by beloved authors and celebrities, by inviting special guests to class, or by encouraging kids to read to one another.
Helpful Educator Resources
- You can find virtual author read-alouds at Scholastic Story Voice.
- Each year, there is a ready-made World Read Aloud Day activity packet available at LitWorld.
Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week
When: First Week of February
The authors and illustrators of children’s books help shape kids’ imaginations and create the stories they carry with them into adulthood, so it makes complete sense to spend a week celebrating these talented heroes (or even just a day, if you can squeeze it in).
One especially fun way to mark the occasion is to let students dress up as their favorite author or illustrator and share some facts about them with the class. An author visit is also a fun way to celebrate if you can arrange one—many authors work with schools frequently and have contact info on their websites.
Helpful Educator Resources
- The American Library Association publishes an annual list of notable children’s books. It’s a great resource to find new authors and illustrators to celebrate.
March Reading Holidays
Literacy Spirit Week/Read Across America Week
When: First Week of March
Literacy Spirit Week, also known as Read Across America Week, is one of the most beloved book celebrations during the school year. It was created by the National Education Association (NEA) to promote reading for kids and young adults. Many schools host themed dress-up days throughout the week, but if you’re looking for a fresh way to celebrate, you’re in luck!
Here’s another fun idea, straight from Butler’s classroom — extend Read Across America Week to include a few weeks before the actual celebration.
“I would give each student a map of the USA, and for each book they read in the weeks leading up to March, they could color in a state,” she recalled. “The goal was to color the whole map by Read Across America Day. If we had a more robust library I would have loved to read a book set in each state with the whole class.”
Read Across America Day
When: March 2
Read Across America Week coincides with the birthday of author Dr. Seuss on March 2, also known as Read Across America Day.
Here are some fun ideas to share with staff:
- Read With a Buddy — Pair up with another teacher to let older kids read to younger kids as a special event.
- Write Book Reviews — Assign students different books to read and review. On Read Across America Day, kids can present their unique reviews to the class.
- Host a Classroom Book Swap — Invite kids to bring a gently used book to class to swap with a classmate.
- Bring a “Friend” to Read With — Let students bring their favorite stuffed animal to class to hang out with them during reading time.
- Invite a Mystery Reader — Get students’ grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, or other special loved ones to volunteer for spots to come read to the class.
Helpful Educator Resources
- The NEA website curates an alphabetical list of ways to celebrate.
April Reading Holidays
National Poetry Month
When: All of April
Every kid can be a poet during National Poetry Month!
National Poetry Month was launched in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, and since then, it’s been a wonderful opportunity to introduce students of all ages to poets, poetry, poetic devices, and the fun of using language in creative ways.
“In the classroom with my kindergarteners we would go on nature walks and use our senses to write a sensory poem,” Emily White, a senior literacy specialist at Ignite Reading, told us. “We would also read a new poem each day and each student would illustrate it in their own way.”
For older kids, White suggested the following ideas:
- Hold a Poetry Slam — Organize a classroom or school-wide event where students can share their own poems or favorite poems they’ve memorized.
- Introduce Different Poetic Forms — Have students write their own acrostics, cinquains, haikus, and shape poems. Use templates to scaffold the process and make it less intimidating.
- Play Poetry Pictionary — Have students draw a scene from a poem, and then let others guess which poem it is.
- Carry a Poem In Your Pocket — On April 10, Carry A Poem In Your Pocket Day, encourage students to carry a favorite poem with them throughout the day and share it with others.
National School Library Month
When: All of April
Yes, April is a busy month for book lovers because it’s also the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) National School Library Month. While schools may not have space on the calendar to celebrate all month long, one especially important date to note is National School Librarian Day (more info below!).
For a simple project for the month, teachers can make collaborative bulletin boards with students’ writing or drawings that showcase their favorite things about the school library.
National School Librarian Day
When: April 4
On April 4, it’s time to celebrate the school librarian. This is the perfect time for students to write thank-you cards to their librarian, work together to make special class gifts, or even host a class- or grade-wide book drive.
Helpful Educator Resources
- Find book lists, printable posters, and more National Library Month activities from the AASL.
- We Are Teachers has dozens of unique ideas to celebrate school librarians.
D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) Day
When: April 12
April 12 is beloved author Beverly Cleary’s birthday. It’s also Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) Day, inspired by the D.E.A.R. time featured in Cleary’s famous Ramona Quimby book series.
D.E.A.R. is sponsored by several national groups, including the National Education Association (NEA), the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). To make the day special, considering sharing some of these resources with educators.
Helpful Educator Resources
- Find Beverly Cleary and Ramona Quimby-themed resources from official founding partner Reading Rockets.
- Get D.E.A.R. Day activity ideas from the National Council of Teachers of English.
May Reading Holidays
Get Caught Reading Month
When: All of May
As the school year winds down, it’s a great time to set kids up to continue reading all summer long, and Get Caught Reading Month is the perfect jumping off point.
One way that Nailah McNeil, an Ignite Reading senior literacy success partner, motivated former students to keep reading even after the final school bell rang was by sending home a Summer Reading Adventure.
“A Summer Reading Adventure is an interactive notepad designed for elementary children to make reading fun and engaging,” McNeil explains.
Here’s how it works: Each page has a simple themed activity that encourages kids to read in new environments and a reflective prompt where they could write or draw about their experience.
Sample activities for the pad can include:
- Read outside under the stars with a flashlight.
- Read a book about animals at your local zoo or in a petting farm. Prompt: Which animal is your favorite and why?
- Grab a blanket and read under your favorite tree.
- Pick a rainy day and read in a pillow fort with a snack.
- Read a book about gardening, then plant a seed or flower.
Children’s Book Week
When: May; dates change annually
Children’s Book Week is exactly what it sounds like: a celebration of books, particularly those geared towards kids.
Established in 1919, it is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Each year, the non-profit Every Child A Reader announces a unique theme for the celebration. Past themes include “An ocean of stories” and “Read books, spark change.”
To celebrate Children’s Book Week, school staff can keep it simple by choosing a selection of books to read in class that fit the year’s theme. Teachers could also ask kids to write or draw something about their own favorite book, or have them design a book cover based on their own unique story idea.
Helpful Educator Resources
- Every Child A Reader publishes an annual guide with resources, activities, and ideas to celebrate.
- Find printable coloring pages, writing prompts, packets, and activities at Scholastic Teachables.
Feature image via Lydia Liu/Flickr; image cropped
