I am hugely honoured to have been asked to be a part of the team of bloggers revealing the illustrator, and poster for International Book Giving Day 2018 on 14th February.

This year’s illustrator is none other than the exceptionally talented Elys Dolan, and here is this year’s fabulously fun poster!

Packed with much loved characters from her book, Knighthood For Beginners, the poster is available for schools, libraries and bookshops to download from www.bookgivingday.com to celebrate the love of reading & encourage others to give books to children on International Book Giving Day. There will also be bookmarks and bookplates available to download from the website.

“We can’t wait to see Elys Dolan’s poster in the wild, spreading the word about International Book Giving Day. She has done an amazing job, and we’re incredibly grateful for her involvement.” Emma Perry, #bookgivingday.

So, get downloading and displaying the poster, and don’t forget to share photos of your poster on display using #BookGivingDay.

About Elys Dolan…

Elys is an author and illustrator based in Cambridge where she studied children’s book illustration. She works predominantly with ink, newfangled digital witchcraft and coloured pencils of which she is the proud owner of 178 but can never seem to find a sharpener. When not doing pictures and making things up Elys enjoys growing cacti, working on her PhD about funny picture books and eating excessive amounts of fondant fancies.

You can find out more about Elys on her website, www.elysdolan.com, and follow her on social media at:
Twitter: @ElysDolan
Facebook: ElysDolanIllustration
Instagram: ElysDolan

About International Book Giving Day…

International Book Giving Day is a 100% volunteer initiative aimed at increasing children’s access to, and enthusiasm for, books by encouraging people worldwide to do one simple thing: give a book to a child on 14th February.

Now in it’s 6th year, International Book Giving Day continues to grow from strength to strength reaching places such as Nepal, India, Pakistan, Canada, South Africa, UK, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Nigeria, Fiji, Czech Republic, USA, Cambodia, Hungary, Philippines and Romania.

On the 14th February, #bookgivingday, participants are encouraged to give books to children, to share the love of books and joy of reading to children across the world. In past years, books have been sent to:
• child refugees in Calais, France;
• a new library was created in Cape Town, South Africa;
• in Uganda, the Mpambara-Cox Foundation gifted books to children, for many it was the first time they have been given a book of their own.
• In 2014 Scholastic Australia went to the Melbourne Children’s Hospital and gifted a book to every child.

How you can get involved…

There are lots of ways you could gift a book to a child on #bookgivingday. Here are just a few suggestions:

1. Gift a book to a friend or family member,
2. Leave a book in a park or play area for children to find and keep
3. Donate a gently used book to your
• local library or school library
• local hospital
• local refuge
• local children’s home
• an organisation that distributes used books to children in need internationally.
4. Get your school or workplace involved too!

You can find out more about International Book Giving Day on their website, www.bookgivingday.com, and keep up to date with what’s happening on social media:
• Twitter: @bookgivingday,
• Facebook: BookGivingDay
• #bookgivingday

The Giveaway…

If you’d like to win a copy of Knighthood For Beginners by Elys Dolan for your School Library, all you need to do is download and display Elys Dolan’s fabulous poster, take a photo, and add it to the comments on my giveaway tweet – don’t forget to use #bookgivingday with your photo! The winner will be drawn on 10th February, so I can get your book to you by the 14th. You’ll need to give me the school address to claim your prize, and it’s UK only.

Let’s spread the joy of #bookgivingday, and give a child the gift of new friends, new places and new adventures on 14th February 2018!

Huge thanks to Emma Perry for asking me to be part of this year’s illustrator and poster reveal for #bookgivingday 2018.

 ❤️🌍📚🎁