By Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

With three months to go til the tenth World Kid Lit Month🥳, we’re thrilled to announce a book giveaway to help schools run an international reading project and enter our second edition of the Schools International Reading Award.

Free book bundles for schools!

To celebrate our 10th year of showcasing children’s and YA books from around the world, we are giving away ten book bundles in the run up to World Kid Lit Month #10 this September. 

Each book bundle is a starter pack of 10 books from 5 continents, many in translation from other languages, to help schools and school libraries offer a diverse range of international children’s literature, in September and all year round. They can form the basis of an international reading project which students can enter for our Schools International Reading Award.

Please nominate a school to receive a book bundle using this online form. Schools nominated will be entered into a draw and two schools will be selected in June, July, August and four in September. Any schools not selected will be added to the draw for the following month. Schools anywhere in the world can be nominated; half of the schools selected will be based in the UK, the rest can be anywhere in the world.

Please share this exciting news with the librarians and teachers in your life! We also have more information and resources for schools and libraries on our resources pages.

What’s the International Reading Award?

The Schools’ International Reading Award is a free competition for schools celebrating international and inclusive reading!

• Run a reading project in your school with an international dimension
• Make a display or presentation responding to what you read
• Enter by 10 October and your school could win a bundle of books from every continent!

The Award was launched in 2025 and is intended to …

• promote reading for pleasure across the school community
• share ideas with your school for books you might not have come across before
• help young people explore international perspectives and global citizenship
• help readers see the value of a second or other language as a cultural and creative asset

There are many ways to interpret the international dimension of the books selected (here are a few ways we interpret ‘world literature for young people‘ here at World Kid Lit, for example).

The Award is for the most internationally diverse reading projects, and the most imaginative or innovative presentations where participants share what they read with others. This is an award for all ages, with three categories for preschool, nursery & primary; primary/middle schools; and high schools/post-16.

The Award will be open to enter via an online form between 1 September and 10 October 2026, but why not start your reading project now? Here’s a great place to start browsing our site for reading ideas, and find out more about the award and how to enter here.

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