Richard and Judy Book Club reads at Aura Libraries

World Book Day is a national campaign to celebrate books and reading for pleasure.

All primary age children will be given a £1 World Book Day Book token through their schools, which they can exchange for a World Book Day title of their choice at local retailers. Aura Libraries will be welcoming lots of local schools on and around World Book Day to celebrate reading and take part in lots of fun activities.

The aim is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own. Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child's future success - more than their family circumstances, their parents' educational background or their income.

Reading for pleasure improves children's life chances across a range of social, educational and well-being measures. However, research from National Literacy Trust found that fewer than one in two (47.8%) children now say they enjoy reading; this is the lowest level since 2005, and reading enjoyment is lowest among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Over million children in the UK currently do not have a single book of their own at home, and World Book Day's books are often the first book many children will own. All World Book Day titles are available to borrow from your Aura Library.

Richard and Judy Book Club

Spring titles now available from Aura Libraries

The Richard and Judy Book Club brings you a handpicked selection of gripping titles to bury your nose in throughout the year. From beautifully written romantic fiction to fast-paced crime thrillers and everything in between, you'll find a great range of exciting releases personally chosen by everyone's favourite book-loving couple. Dive in today and discover your next new favourite book!

Weyward by Emilia Hart

• Weyward by Emilia Hart: Kate, 2019. Kate flees London - and her abusive partner - for Cumbria and Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great-aunt. There, a secret lurks in the bones of the house, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century. Violet, 1942. Violet is more interested in collecting insects and climbing trees than in becoming a proper young lady. Until a chain of shocking events changes her life forever. Altha, 1619. Altha is on trial for witchcraft, accused of killing a local man. Known for her uncanny connection with nature and animals, she is a threat that must be eliminated.

Over Sharing by Jane Fallon

• Over Sharing by Jane Fallon: Social influencer Maddy's life is picture perfect. Wholesome videos of her husband and twin girls project the happiest of families. And court the fame she so clearly craves. Iris knows Maddy as the woman who broke up her marriage. Her whole world was turned upside down and she can't bear the hypocrisy. But there's one thing that might bring back Iris's happiness. Taking away Maddy's. Revenge, however, is best served up close and personal. Iris needs to get know to Maddy. Which is when things get very messy indeed.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

• Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll: January 1978. Tallahassee. When sorority president Pamela Schumacher is woken at 3am, she's shocked to encounter a scene of implausible violence - two of her friends dead and two others, maimed. Thrust into a terrifying mystery, Pamela becomes entangled in a crime that captivates public interest for more than four decades. On the other side of the country, Tina Cannon has found peace in Seattle after years of hardship. When Ruth, her best friend, goes missing from Lake Sammamish State Park in broad daylight, surrounded by thousands of beachgoers on a beautiful summer day, Tina devotes herself to finding out what happened to her. When Tina hears about the tragedy in Tallahassee, she suspects the same man the papers refer to is responsible. Determined to make him answer for what he did to Ruth, she travels to Florida on a collision course with Pamela - and one last impending tragedy.

The Last Passenger by Will Dean

• The Last Passenger by Will Dean: A luxury cruise liner, abandoned with no crew, steaming into the mid-Atlantic. And you are the only passenger left on board. Caz Ripley, a cafe owner from a small, ordinary town, boards the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete and a thousand fellow passengers destined for New York. The next morning, she wakes to discover that everyone else on board has disappeared. And that's just the beginning. Caz must prepare for a crossing that will be anything but plain sailing.

The Trial by Robert Rinder

• The Trial by Robert Rinder: When hero policeman Grant Cliveden dies from a poisoning in the Old Bailey, it threatens to shake the country to its core. The evidence points to one man. Jimmy Knight has been convicted of multiple offences before and defending him will be no easy task. Not least because this is trainee barrister Adam Green's first case. But it will quickly become clear that Jimmy Knight is not the only person in Cliveden's past with an axe to grind. The only thing that's certain is that this is a trial which will push Adam - and the justice system itself - to the limit.

No One Saw A Thing by Andrea Mara

• No One Saw a Thing by Andrea Mara: You stand on a crowded tube platform in London. Your two little girls jump on the train ahead of you. As you try to join them, the doors slide shut and the train moves away, leaving you behind. By the time you get to the next stop, you've convinced yourself that everything will be fine. But you soon start to panic, because there aren't two children waiting for you on the platform. There's only one. Has your other daughter got lost? Been taken by a passing stranger? Or perhaps the culprit is closer to home than you think? No one is telling the truth, and the longer the search continues, the harder she will be to find.

These titles are, available to borrow from the Library or to download as eBook and listen to the audiobook for free from Borrowbox.

Let us know what you think about the titles, find us on social media - @LlyfrgelloeddAuraLibraries on Facebook and Instagram and @LibFlintshire on Twitter.

• Aura is a charitable, not-for-profit, organisation responsible for managing the majority of leisure, libraries and heritage services in Flintshire. Aura is owned by its employees and operates for the benefit of local communities.