There are displays and posters promoting the summer reading challenge at Abingdon Library. The theme of ‘Wild World Heroes’ encourages children to read about nature and wildlife during the summer holidays. The challenge runs from July 10th to September 11th for children aged 4 and over.

The wild world window has leaves where children have left their best wild world reads.

If anybody has any books about nature and wildlife that we adults should read then please leave a comment. We want a reading challenge too.

Steve King says that after many hours of research his book has been published. It comprises twelve chapters telling the circumstance of how the 56 men named on Abingdon’s war memorial for WW2 met their untimely end.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, copies will be late in the stores. Mostly Books, Abingdon do have some copies in stock available to deliver. It is also available on Kindle.

Steve also found out about the men buried in Commonwealth War Graves in Abingdon cemeteries who are not mentioned on the memorial. He also found out about two Abingdon heroes who survived the war and the seven Abingdon heroes who died at Dunkirk.

The early May bank holiday in 2020 will move from Monday 4th May to Friday 8th May to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day which takes place on 8th May. That move was made to enable people to pay tribute before Covid-19 became such a threat. Any celebrations are likely to be scaled back, cancelled, or postponed to protect veterans and others.

At Mostly Books, in Stert Street, there was a book reading, and children had dressed up for the event.

At the Bookstore, in Bury Street, children from different years at Thameside School have been coming every day of the week to exchange their World Book Day vouchers, either: for a book from the special display, or they could use it towards another book.

One book in the shop was created with the help of children from Thameside School, Abingdon.

Children worked with artist Korky Paul to make bug pictures for the start and end leafs of his new book ‘Winnie the Witch – Bug Safari’.

Pictures by 28 children are featured in the book.

Next door, W H Smith had 3 for 2 on lots of children’s books for World Book Day.

Abingdon Library are currently running a reader’s challenge, called Bloomin’ Good Books.

Readers of any age are invited to fill in and return a postcard, about a favourite book, to be entered for the prize draw. You can write an account of the book and why you like it. That might inspire somebody else to read that book and reading will grow.

There are six (soon to be seven) charity shops in the town centre that sell second hand books.

The British Heart Foundation had a window display for World Book Day. On the top shelf is fiction, next down is children’s books, next down is adult fiction, and bottom is media. The display changes as people often ask to buy what is in the window.

Abingdon County Museum also sell books – all of them about Abingdon.

Poundland also sells books, as does Waitrose.

So by my reckoning there are twelve shops that sell books in Abingdon Town Centre this World Book Day.