On March 6, schoolchildren across the country will be celebrating World Book Day.

This is an opportunity for children and families to find enjoyment in reading, which has been proven to have a number of benefits that continue throughout life.

Research shows that reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success, enabling them to break through socio-economic barriers, and even being linked to better mental health at adolescence.

World Book Day holds a number of events across the country every year, from The Great Big Footy and Booky Quiz, to celebrating favourite characters and books. It’s also fantastic to see so many children dressing up as their favourite characters on World Book Day.

Of course, as with every year, there will be a focus on ensuring that every child has the opportunity to own a book. World Book Day works with various publishers to enable children to purchase a book with a £1 book token.

In Barnsley, we are lucky to see the return of Barnsley Book Festival alongside World Book Day.

After its first celebration taking place last year, the festival lasts until March 8, and will celebrate different themes, authors, and highlight new works available to read.

There will also be a number of authors, poets, and performances that local people can enjoy across the area.

Once again this year I am holding my World Book Day competition to find out which children’s books have been the favourites over the last year.

This is open to all school children across Barnsley South with the opportunity to win a prize. To enter, send a summary of your favourite book and why you have chosen it, along with your full name and postcode, to stephanie.peacock.mp@parliament.uk.

You literally can’t beat losing yourself in a good book. I was struck by an interview with Joanne Harris that I read in The Guardian the other week that described the impact of falling in love with reading at a young age after she was snowed in at Barnsley Library.

The joy of reading brings so many benefits, unlocks potential and improves lives.