In the National Year of Reading and as Andersen Press celebrates its 50th anniversary, we’ve been pausing to reflect on how we as an industry can encourage children of all ages to read more, and read better. For fifty years, Andersen Press has published stories that families return to again and books like David McKee’s Elmer have seen a full generational cycle. Parents remember their own experience of reading Elmer stories for the first time, and want to revive that shared experience with their own children. But today’s children – and adults alike – are starting to experience stories differently than they did when Andersen was founded. Across the media industry, we’ve seen a rise in appetite for interactive, live events that bring people closer to the entertainment brands they know and love. From in-person podcast events to influencer livestreams, the entertainment world is shifting from passive consumption to active participation, generating shared moments that build communities and connect people.

Celebration days like Elmer Day have become so important in how we can turn stories into shared events, and experiences into reading habits. For ten years now, Elmer Day has reached tens of thousands of children globally, through local events run by libraries, schools, nurseries and retailers. With his message of celebrating difference and friendship, Elmer naturally lends himself to a sense of community and shared experience, but Elmer Day is not just a celebration of a beloved picture book character – it’s an invitation to interact with a story world. It’s not about distracting children from reading, but rather about deepening the experience. When children paint an Elmer picture together, hear the story read aloud, talk about what makes them unique, and maybe even take a book home, reading becomes embedded not just in memory but in meaning.

This year, we are creating brand new resources to help create an unforgettable reading experience in your space, keeping the books at the core of every event. Our 2026 activity pack is bigger and better than ever: with drama activity plans, teaching resources linking back to the books, and some fun colouring and crafting activities, there’s everything you’ll need to create a fun and colourful day together. This year, we’re excited to be working with SENsational Tutors to offer exclusive guidelines to explain how to use our assets in a SEN environment – to make sure that every child gets the best out of Elmer Day!

Every year, Elmer Day is what bookshops, schools, nurseries and libraries make it. At Andersen Press, we are fortunate to have cultivated story worlds that children know and love, true heritage properties like Elmer that stand the test of time. When it comes to these heritage book brands where the character and the world transcend the page, we have the perfect opportunity to harness young imaginations through experiences and events like Elmer Day, bringing children back to bookshops, back into libraries, and back to the original medium: the book. After all, hasn’t creating worlds always been at the heart of the children’s book industry? Perhaps now we just have a new and exciting toolset to work with. So sign up for Elmer Day this year, and together, let’s make it bigger and better than ever!

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Many thanks to Alice.  We have put together an opportunity for schools to create their own bespoke Elmer Bundles and take advantage our our special schools’ discount!  Find our Pick and Mix page here to build your bundle.

The first ten bundles will receive Elmer bunting and a poster as well as access to Andersen’s interactive resource.