International Book Giving Day
Next: February 14, 2027
Give a child a book.
The story
Where it comes from
International Book Giving Day began with a small boy in Duluth, Minnesota. Jack Broadmoore wanted a more exciting holiday between Christmas and Easter, so he invented Book Giving Day on 14 February, a day to swap books with family and friends. In 2012 his mother Amy, a children's book blogger, shared the idea with fellow bloggers a few days before Valentine's Day and turned it into an international day for getting books into children's hands. Emma Perry, of the Melbourne book site My Book Corner, later took over running it.
How it's celebrated
The idea is simple: share the love of books on a day already full of love. People give a book to a child they know, or donate one to a school, library or charity that passes books on to children who have few. Illustrators donate free posters, bookmarks and bookplates for the day, and families share photos of their book gifts online.
Did you know
- Jack came up with the idea after his uncle encouraged him to invent a holiday of his own.
- The first logo was designed by the illustrator Viviane Schwarz.
- Its organiser says more than 47 countries take part, from Nigeria to New Zealand.
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