National Share-a-Story Month: ahead of its time by Louisa Farrow

National Share-a-Story Month: ahead of its time

Great stories are the greater for sharing! Humans have known this since the birth of language although it’s easy to forget that in our global but fragmented world.

The start of National Share-a-Story month

Almost 50 years ago the Federation of Children’s Book Groups launched National Tell-A-Story week: a national event that aimed to bring books and children together by highlighting the importance of telling and sharing stories. In 1998 Tell-a-Story Week became National Share-a-Story Month and so it has been celebrated each May, happily ever after.

It was ahead of its time. Since then, research has proven that reading, far from just being a solitary, individual pastime (although, of course, it can be that) is best nurtured by sharing. The more we build reading communities, the more we support children’s enjoyment of reading. Today, that is more important than ever, as the numbers of children who report that they read for pleasure continues to decline.

The National Share-a-Story month booklist

The theme for National Share-a-Story Month 2025 is ‘Changing the World, One Book at a Time’. The Federation has put together a curated list of stories that encourage environmental awareness and responsibility by exploring difficult themes like climate change, habitat loss and environmental degradation in a positive, hopeful way. There were difficult choices to be made; the quality and variety of books on offer was striking. The final list features graphic novels and poetry as well as traditional stories and picture books. There are many brand new titles and some old favourites too. We hope that there is something for everyone and that you will enjoy browsing through the delights on offer. Keep a watch on this blog too, which will be picking out some of the highlights.

The National Share-a-Story Month community reading competition

As our celebrations are not just about finding stories to enjoy but about sharing them, this year we are running a national competition to find the best community story sharing event. It could be a booknic, or a book swap, or a story-telling extravaganza. Thanks to the generosity of many publishers and authors, we have some fabulous prizes of book bundles and author visits. Check our website for details of how to enter and how to win – alongside tips on how to make your event extra go with a flourish.

National Share-a-Story Month writing competitions

As we love to hear new stories too, we have been pleased to link up with two publishers to run competitions to find talented young writers. Guppy Books have generously sponsored Stories for Change inspired by Anna Goodall’s Maggie Blue and the Lost Child. The deadline has closed but look out for the winning story which will be announced here on the blog this month. Still to come, with a closing date of 31st May, is a competition grown from the Blue’s Planet series of books by Lucy McRobert and published by Sweet Cherry Publishing. In keeping with Blue’s spirit, Sweet Cherry are inviting children and young readers to become environmental reporters and shine a light on real-life environmental issues in their own communities. Check the National Share-a-Story month page of our website for more information.

Happy National Share-a-Story Month 2025!