People shared stories about their connections to Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons books across social media yesterday as part of World Book Day 2019.

World Book Day is an annual event that has been organised by UNESCO since 1995 to promote reading and publishing. In the United Kingdom and Ireland it is a charity event that is held on the first Thursday in March.

Fans of Swallows and Amazons shared messages about what the books meant to them and of activities inspired them, and we include a small selection below.

#dhsbartoftheday The dust jackets for Arthur Ransome's #swallowsandAmazons series inspired me to dive into a world of adventure & imagination at a young age. Being a Norfolk dumpling Coot Club & The Big Six were always my favourites with images of Wherries and Pike #WorldBookDay pic.twitter.com/KmbYXlSGOg

— Graham Macleod (@MCDHSB) March 7, 2019

#ShareAStory #WorldBookDay @Waterstones

As a child Swallows and Amazons was (and still is) one of my most favourite books. It has freedom, adventure, friendship, excitement and a little bit of danger. The perfect cocktail for the perfect childhood pic.twitter.com/kDT6EP2wpH

— Cate (@Langdale_Lass) March 7, 2019

Happy #WorldBookDay! Our accounts lady Penny buys this book for every new baby in the family – Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. A tale of childhood adventure, discovery and friendship. pic.twitter.com/KDc3GZHXKb

— Everyman Legal Ltd (@EverymanLegalLt) March 7, 2019

Every Christmas and summer holiday a new Arthur Ransome – remember holding my breath whilst touching the endpapers and becoming immersed – such fine writing. #swallowsandamazons https://t.co/fe8953pgFh

— Jane Newberry (@Janenewberry55) March 7, 2019

A special congratulations to Jessica for her exciting cover design for the book Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. The judges are happy to announce that Jessica is the winner of the World Book Day 2019 cover competition. @Head_WHS @Library_WHS @English_WHS #InspireWHS pic.twitter.com/T7LRFaFCMy

— WHS Art Department (@ArtDept_WHS) March 7, 2019

“I could not help writing it. It almost wrote itself.”

In the words of Captain Nancy, three million cheers for Arthur Ransome’s wonderful books on #worldbookday19 #SwallowsandAmazons #arthurransome pic.twitter.com/Q1RrPwEIju

— arthurransomedaily (@arthurransomed1) March 7, 2019