David Headley

(Managing Director of Goldsboro Books)

When I think about the book that first made me fall in love with reading, I always say it was Danny the Champion of the World.

I can still clearly remember where I was when I read that. I was young, about seven, sitting alone in a classroom at lunchtime. The room had that faint, vinegary smell typical of schools—a mix of cleaning fluid and sweaty children. It was quiet in the way classrooms are when everyone else has gone outside. I had no idea that anything important was happening. It wasn't a grand literary awakening. Just a boy with a book, turning pages because he didn't want the story to end.

What struck me then, and has remained with me ever since, was the bond between Danny and his father. They lived simply in a caravan behind a filling station, but their world felt rich. It was filled with warmth, loyalty, and shared secrets. There was mischief and risk, but at its core was love. As a child, that felt enormous.

I remember the excitement of the pheasant plot, the sense of secrecy, the idea that ordinary people could be brave in small, meaningful ways. It was the first time I realised that books could make you feel part of something. Not just an observer, but a participant.

Looking back, I realise what was truly happening in that silent classroom. Reading was becoming mine. Not homework. Not instruction. Not something assigned. It was personal, chosen, and absorbing.

Much later, when I built my life around books, I realised I had been pursuing that same feeling ever since. The sense that a story can transform an ordinary room, even one that smells faintly of vinegar, into somewhere vast and alive.

World Book Day is about celebrating reading. For me, it is about remembering the moment a book quietly claimed me.

And for me, that moment happened at lunchtime, alone, with Danny. 

Emily

(Events Manager & DHH Literary Agent)

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: While admittedly not a children’s book, I read this when I was about 14/15 years old and it completely opened up my love of reading and remains my favourite book to the day (I’m even lucky enough to have a personally signed first edition, with a little cartoon drawn by Zusak himself!). It is all at once heartbreaking and hopeful and a stark reminder of how lucky we are to have literature so readily available to us. It’s an escape and a safe haven for so many, I know it is for me.
• Anything by Jacqueline Wilson: I know I’m in the huge majority of Millennials who absolutely adore this woman, and were raised by her books. Remember those magazines you used to get in school where you could order books of all kinds and they’d be delivered to your desk, one magical day? If money and mum allowed it, Jacqueline Wilson would always be what I opted for. And as an adult, I can so appreciate how she didn’t shy away from tricky subjects just because the books would ordinarily be found in the children’s section. A true pioneer (and the loveliest lady to boot!).
• The Selfish Giant: This is one that my grandma always read to me and I would read it compulsively read it every time we visited. The themes are beautiful and while I’m not religious, that subtle element comes through in the most poignant way. It’s always one that will make me stop in my tracks and I can’t wait to read it to my daughter (though at only one years old, we’ll wait a few years before breaking her heart into a million pieces).
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery: I used to listen to the audiobook of this every night when I was little and the descriptions of Anne’s surroundings when Matthew is bringing her home from the station have stuck with me to this day: “The White Way of Delight”; “The Lake of Shining Waters”. Very simple descriptions yet so evocative that the places just burst into my imagination and set up camp for ever more. And I’ve always loved the chapter where Anne and Diana Barry get accidentally tiddly on raspberry cordial (actually currant wine). My kind of girls!

Lizzie

(Capital Crime Festival Director)

My mother is my greatest influence and is still my favourite person to talk about books with. She always has a book or audiobook on the go - terribly chic. When I was little she used to say that I could stay up past my bedtime if I read in bed and I became hooked! My love of crime fiction first began when I picked up The Bad Beginning: A series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket in a bookshop. I'd read the first chapter before I'd left the shop and then not-so-patiently waited for every subsequent book in the series to be released. For my first 'grown up' read, I also vividly remember finding a well-loved copy of 'The Ladykiller' by Martina Cole on a shelf at a holiday cottage in Cornwall when I was around 11, I felt so grown up reading it and carted it around everywhere with me that holiday!

Belle

(Bookseller Admin Support)

• Michael Morpurgo titles! I think this is where my curiosity for reading first began. Morpurgo has a brilliant capacity for animal storytelling. War Horse, Born to Run and Kensuke’s Kingdom are but a few of his titles that I consider childhood favourites. His exploration of the relationship between animals and humans is pivotal to his literature. It enables young readers to empathise and find connection through the act of reading. This is a powerful tool and evidently served to encourage my love for reading from a young age.
• In my early teenage years, I was also particularly fond of Holly Jackson’s ‘A Good Girls Guide to Murder’. This mystery series was gripping and the definition of a page turner! What begins as a trivial school project quickly turns into a full investigation, led by teenager Pippa who uncovers all the dark secrets of her quiet town and the murder of Andie Bell. This series got me interested in murder mysteries, a genre I would’ve otherwise dismissed as not for me!
• One of my favourite books that I encourage everyone to read at least once in their life is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I would say this is the most influential book that got me into books and literature in general. It is one of the reasons I chose to study Literature at University.

Chiara

(Senior Bookseller, London)

• Eragon series by Christopher Paolini: This was one of the first books that I ever picked up for myself outside of a school. I really liked the quest elements of this series as well as the complex character building that happens across the four books. I remember waiting all day for school to finish to get to my local WHSmith to see if they had stocked Inheritance when it was first released.
• The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence: This was recommend this series by a teacher as I was interested in History, it gives children a good understand of what life would have been like in Ancient Rome as well as an understanding of the vocabulary.
• Percy Jackson and subsequent spin off books: A more modern version of Greek/Roman gods that I was introduced to in The Roman Mysteries. Really fell in love with the characters as, lot of them are teenagers struggling and making mistakes along the way. Would recommend this even to adults if they want a light-hearted way into Green and Roman mythologies.

Megan

(Bookseller, London)

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Mopurgo was the first book I ever picked up at primary school after completing all the reading grades. This meant I was able to use the ‘free books’ section of the library, where I could choose whatever fiction or non-fiction book I wanted. The sense of accomplishment I felt when picking up this story about an adventurous cat, set in the background of World War II, will always stay with me. As well as sparked my childhood enthusiasm for Morpugo’s work! Importantly, this book not only encouraged me to read but also showed me the freedom that comes with it.

Laila

(Bookseller, London)

Reading has always been part of my life, even if it’s meant different things over the years. When I was a child it was all about bedtime stories, being read to, feeling safe and comforted as I drifted off to sleep. As I grew up, reading became my escape. I’d hide away in my room, tucked beneath my blanket with a little light, staying up far later than I probably should have trying not to wake my sister up every time I had to turn the pages.

Now, as an adult, reading is still my escape, but it's also where my heart learns the most. I love getting lost in fantasy worlds filled with magic, dragons, and places that feel so real they linger with me long after the story ends. I also have a deep love for romance stories for quiet moments, grand gestures, and the way books capture love in all its messy, beautiful forms. Through books, I've learned about love, loss, courage, and compassion. About people and the lives I may never live myself. In the pages of so many stories, I've felt heartbreak, hope, and joy, and in doing so, it feels like I've lived a million lifetimes.

Reading over the years has taught me to feel more deeply, to see more kindly, and to carry a little more understanding with me into the real world. And for that I will forever be grateful.