I declare April the crème de la crème for book lovers. We have celebrations for children's books, poetry, budding writers, famous authors, libraries, & bookstores. It's all here in this one glorious month for books.
So take a gander at some of these fun holidays & start celebrating your love of reading. Scroll to the bottom for a graphic you can download & refer to throughout the month. I hope to see some of your posts on Bookstagram. Follow me @staceywritesandreads so we can become even better book friends!
2nd Week of April: National Library Week
Don't we wish all the weeks could be library weeks? But let's be grateful for this one because it's a doozy! (Librarians know how to have a good time.)
On Tuesday of this week, we have an opportunity to thank our librarians for their dedication to putting good books into our hands. Make sure you do something nice for your gem on National Library Workers Day them a card, buy them a cup of coffee, or better yet, gift them a book.
And on Wednesday, be on the lookout for libraries rolling down your street because it's National Bookmobile Day. TBH I haven't seen one since I was a kid. It was a favorite summer treat climbing aboard the big red truck of books and selecting my next escape into another world. Fingers crossed I see another one soon.
The simplest way to celebrate this holiday is to go check out a few books at your local branch. I don't know about your neck of the woods, but my library has coffee shop vibes complete with a fireplace & I'm here for it.
(picture from website)
4/2: International Children's Book Day
A Day for the whole world to celebrate the wonder of children's books. You are never too old to find the beauty inside these artistic masterpieces. My shelf displaying these books is like my own curated art museum. Artists like Dav Pilkey, James Stevenson, John Schoenherr, & Lisa Aisato add depth & whimsy to every page.
I've often thought of decorating an entire wall from the pages of my favorite children's books. Maybe one day you'll see it here!
4/10: Encourage a Young Writer Day
I love the idea of this & never knew a day like it existed until I did the research for this post. I'm lucky to be the host of the Writer's Club at my school and simply calling kids writers seems to change them. And oh how those eyes light up when they're brave enough to share a snippet of their story & have everyone tell them how much they enjoyed their work. I can feel them dreaming of one day being the next Judy Blume or Rick Riordan.
So if you have a child in your life with author dreams, do what you can to fill their cup today.
4/12: Drop Everything And Read Day (D.E.A.R.)
I have no proof, but I strongly suspect this day was created by a teacher dreaming of a quiet classroom with 30 students lost in a good story. It is the holy grail of teacherdom.
So, take full advantage of this day. Drop the laundry, save the errands for another day, stop the scrolling, and simply read. It will most likely be the best thing you do all day so why would you miss it? In fact, I think every day should have a D.E.A.R. time built into it, don't you?
4/13: National Scrabble Day
Okay, it's not books, but it is words and words are definitely book-adjacent, so if there is a Scrabble Day, lovers of words should participate in the festivities.
Here are a few ideas to help you:
Play the game the old-fashioned way, on a board with a Scrabble dictionary nearby. (Yes, they do exist.)
Play Words with Friends & get trounced by some wordsmith across the country.
Create a #flatlay Bookstagram post with books & scrabble squares.
Let me tell you, those little squares are a whole thing; their look, their texture, the sound they make bumping into each other, and even the little stand on which you display your pieces is a mood. It is no surprise this game is only surpassed by Monopoly in its popularity.
Fun Fact: Using all 7 of your tiles on a single play is called a "Bingo."
4/16: National Librarian Day
As mentioned, this is celebrated during National Library Week. As a fellow book aficionado, you should be an expert on what to gift a librarian. But if you need some inspo, check out my blog post 35 Gifts for Book Lovers. You may even find something for yourself!
4/17: National Haiku Poetry Day
Let's face it, we all need a little more poetry in our lives. Now, we have a day to make sure it happens. But what the heck is a haiku, you ask?
A Haiku is a Japanese poem with a 5-7-5 structure. The first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7, and the last has 5. Traditionally, they have a nature or seasonal reference, include a punction mark, & do not rhyme. Sounds easy right? Not so much, and it's a great challenge to get the creative juices flowing.
Stories fill the soul!
Adventure, love, triumph
on a tattered page.
No nature reference, but book people are notorious for breaking rules, right? Now, you give it a shot & include your ode to books on your Bookstagram post today.
4/18: National Teen Lit Day
Teen lit has gotten very adulty lately. The only thing that designates a book as YA is the age of the MC. This opens the door for some very mature content in the romantasy world. In other words, know thy reader, friends.
With that being said, so many outstanding stories exist in the world of middle grade & YA. If the coming-of-age trope is your jam, then teen lit is a good place to be. If you're stuck on what to select, then hop on over to Bookstagram. My TBR is longer than Santa's Nice List.
Here are a few of my favorite Bookstagrammers to follow for Book Recs:
@pagesforpaige not only reviews books, but posts author interviews.
@ariandher.books was the 1st kid bookstagrammer I met & did the 1st reviews of my Violet Jenkins series.
@father_daughter_books is a cute duo giving book recs.
All you need to do is search for middle grade books on the app & you're sure to find your people.
4/23: Talk Like Shakespeare Day
I say, "Bibliophiles, Bibliophiles, where for art thou Bibliophiles?"
We have a whole day to celebrate our favorite bard's Birthday & sound really cool too. To get you started, I've selected 10 of my favorite Shakespearian words for you to work into your conversations today. But I highly recommend you google all the words & sayings we have thanks to Shakespeare. It is astounding.
avaunt: begone, go away, be off (Avaunt, you fools!)
befall: happen, occur (May good fortune befall you, friends.)
cuckold: man with an unfaithful wife (He's an ignorant cuckold)
fain: gladly, willingly (I would fain read Shakespeare's sonnets today.)
forbear: stop, cease (Forbear this nonsense!)
knave: scoundrel, rascal (They're all bratty knaves.)
livery: costume, special clothing (Let's fain don our livery and have a splendid evening.)
merely: completely, totally (I'm merely a bookworm with bookish dreams.)
methinks: seemed to me (Methinks books are everything.)
oft: often (I oft fall asleep reading.)
sup: have dinner (We shall sup at sunset.)
I mean, do we book people know how to live right, or what?
4/27: National Tell a Story Day
I'm glad this one falls at the end of the month because I needed a few days to prepare. After a quick Google search I found several websites offering up short stories for middle school students. I'm going to share "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl with my kids. I think they're going to love it!
Visit Creative Classroom Core for a full list of short stories. After reading "Lamb to the Slaughter," I was hooked on the format. Ten minutes is all you need for a complete story but be prepared for the long discussion that is sure to follow. Most of these stories had endings that left you with your mouth hanging open. So much fun!
4/28: Harper Lee's Birthday
Harper Lee is the author of the American classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Although the book was first published in 1960, kids today still find the heartbreaking story of racism and injustice compelling.
Fun Fact: Lee's first attempt at this story portrayed Scout as a 26-year-old woman in Go Set a Watchman. An editor loved a flashback scene about Scout's childhood and encouraged Lee to rewrite the story from a child's point of view which gives a more innocent, less influenced insight into a person's character and social wrongs.
Fun Fact: To Kill a Mocking Bird was the first book Lee published. Her second book was published at the age of 89. It was that first draft written long ago, Go Set a Watchman.
Fun Fact: To Kill a Mocking Bird's title suggests the destruction of innocence.
4/30: Poem in Your Pocket Day
It's time to scour your poetry books and decide on a favorite. Then write it down and tuck it in your pocket to enjoy throughout the day. Want to take it a step further? Post your favorite poem on Bookstagram or share a reading of it. Maybe add your own artistic flair around the words and display it in your home. But whatever you do, take a moment to enjoy a good poem today.
Last Saturday: Independent Bookstore Day
We end the month with the best day of all! Another excuse to spruce up our shelves with new editions. Not to mention, it begs you to scope out that little bookstore you've been eyeing for months but haven't had the time, courage, or money to venture into yet. But beware, once you discover your town's little oasis, you'll be coming back before next year's Independent Bookstore Day!
What did I tell ya? April is a booklover's dream! I hope you enjoy every day of it. And at the end of the month, I hope you return to check out all the bookish fun in store for you in May.
Happy reading, friends,
Stacey Faubion