Paperboard for World Book Day book covers
The “I’ll give you a story” initiative is organised annually to promote reading among children and is supported by publishers, booksellers and partners from the value chain. For the 2026 campaign, participating bookshops across Germany will distribute the campaign book to approximately one million pupils.
Metsä Board supplies the paperboard used for the cover of the campaign book “Der fliegende Klassenscooter”, contributing material expertise to a project with broad educational reach.
MetsäBoard Prime FBB Bright – a suitable choice for book covers
The book cover is produced using MetsäBoard Prime FBB Bright 235 g/m², a folding boxboard grade designed for applications where stiffness, visual appearance and material efficiency are required.
Key properties of MetsäBoard Prime FBB Bright include:
- High stiffness, supporting robust covers at a relatively low grammage
- Good printability, enabling bright colours and detailed graphics
- Lightweight structure, allowing reduced material use per cover
- Made from fresh fibres sourced from Northern European forests
- FSC® certified (C001580)
These properties make the grade well suited for children’s book covers that need to withstand handling while maintaining a high-quality appearance.
Production in Finland and focus on material efficiency
The paperboard is produced at Metsä Board’s Äänekoski mill in Finland. The mill utilises a high share of fossil‑free energy in its operations and is designed for efficient use of raw materials.
The relatively low basis weight of 235 g/m² enables a reduction in fibre consumption per book cover compared with heavier alternatives, supporting efficient material use across a high-volume campaign.
In addition, the paperboard quality is produced according to the cradle-to-cradle principle, and can be fully recycled.
Linking reading promotion with responsible material choices
The selection of paperboard reflects the values of the “I’ll give you a story” campaign, which aims to inspire children to read while also considering how books are made.
“We are very pleased to participate in this project. By choosing our quality, we are supporting an initiative that promotes reading while also enabling efficient use of materials through lightweight paperboard,” says Gabriel Goldmayer, Sales Director at Metsä Board.
The campaign book is published by cbj Verlag, which emphasises reliability, quality and long-term material performance in its production decisions.
“Reliability, quality and a commitment to responsible material choices are equally important to us when selecting materials for our books. With Metsä Board, these criteria are well met, and we are delighted to work together again on a project with significant social importance,” says Barbara Scheuer, Head of Production at cbj Verlag.
"I'll Give You a Story" is a joint initiative of Stiftung Lesen (Reading Foundation), Stiftung Buchkultur und Leseförderung des Börsenvereins (Book Culture and Reading Promotion Foundation of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association), Deutsche Post and DHL, cbj Verlag, and ZDF. Since 1997, schoolchildren in 4th and 5th grades have received a story written especially for the day around UNESCO's World Book Day on April 23 each year. For the 20th time, the education ministers of the federal states are supporting the initiative as patrons and are financing the printing of the book vouchers.
