HAPPY CHILDREN'S BOOK DAY!
April 2 is officially celebrated as International Children's Book Day worldwide. In 1966, at the initiative of Jela Lepman, an international day dedicated to children's books was created - April 2 was chosen as the date, which is considered to be the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen. The event is still organized today by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) - this is a non-profit organization established in 1953. Every year, IBBY announces a theme that is given to a certain member state of the organization, which in turn chooses a writer to write a message to the world and an illustrator to create a poster. This year (2017) the theme is "Grow with Books!", and the country is Russia. The poster (published on our page) is the work of Mikhail Fyodorov, and the message is by Sergey Makhotin. Many countries, whether members of IBBY or not, celebrate International Children's Book Day in different ways. In Bulgaria, the official campaign is the "Book March", organized by the Bulgarian Book Association, in partnership with the Bulgarian Library and Information Association and the Ministry of Education and Science.
„LET US GROW WITH THE BOOK! In my early childhood I loved to build houses out of blocks and all sorts of toys. Instead of a roof I often used a children’s book with pictures. In my dreams I climbed into the house, laid down on the bed made of a matchbox and looked up at the clouds or at the starry sky. It all depended on which picture I liked the most. I have intuitively followed the rule of life of every child who seeks to create a comfortable and safe environment for himself. And a children’s book really helped me accomplish this. Then I got older, I learned to read, and a book in my imagination started looking more like a butterfly, or even a bird, than a roof of a house. The book pages resembled the wings and rustled. It seemed that the book lying on the windowsill would rush out the open window into unknown spaces. I took it in my hands and began reading, and the book began to calm down. Then I rushed myself to other lands and worlds, expanding the space of my imagination. What a joy to hold a new book in one’s hands! At first you don’t know what the book is about. You resist the temptation to open the last page. And how good it smells! It is impossible to divide this smell into components: printing ink, glue… no, it is not. There is a particular smell of a book, an exciting and unique one. The tips of some pages would stick together as if the book had not woken up yet. It wakes up when you start reading it. You are growing up and the world around is becoming more complicated. You are facing the questions, which not even any adult is ready to answer. However, it is important to share your doubts and secrets with someone. And here a book comes along again to help. Many of us have probably caught ourselves thinking: this book was written about me! And the favourite character suddenly appears to be like you. He experiences the same problems and tackles them with dignity. And another character is not like you at all, but you want him to be your role model, you wish to be as brave and resourceful as he is. When some boys or a girl says, “I do not like to read!” that makes me laugh. I do not believe these kids. They eat ice cream, play games and watch interesting movies. In other words, they like to have fun. And reading is not just hard work towards the development of feelings and personality, but it is first of all a great pleasure. Specifically for that purpose children’s books authors write their manuscripts.“
Books are once again on a march towards their readers. From April 2 to 23, 2017, the national campaign "The March of Books" is being held for the sixth time. The Bulgarian Book Association is pleased to invite you on April 2 at 11:00 a.m. in the Children's Department of the Sofia Library (Slaveykov Square, 4a), to jointly launch the sixth edition of the national campaign to encourage reading "The March of Books". Since one of the main goals of the campaign is to reach the youngest readers, the program on the opening day is dedicated entirely to them. Special guests will be popular Bulgarian actors who will read their favorite children's poems to the little guests and their parents (from 11:00 a.m. in the Great Hall of the Children's Department). The program will follow the planned by the hosts from the Sofia Library "Smehoransko Karaoke" from 18:00 and "The Night When Books Come Alive" from 20:30. The starting date of the "Book March" is not accidental, but coincides with the birthday of the fairy tale Hans Christian Andersen (April 2, 1805 - August 4, 1875). In 1967, this day was declared International Children's Book Day at the initiative of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). The end of the campaign comes on April 23 - the day declared in 1995 by UNESCO as World Book and Copyright Day. Over its five editions, the campaign has reached more than 10,000 children across the country, and many of the participating schools and kindergartens have subsequently opened new library units or supplemented existing ones with current titles from the world of children's literature. As part of the "Book March", two more national campaigns are also being implemented: "Reading Marathon", an initiative of the Bulgarian Library and Information Association, in which libraries and community centers across the country are involved with literary events, and the annual "Magic Pearl" competition on the "Children's Books" website for children's and young adult literature, in which none other than readers aged 6 to 15 choose the winners among their peers. The first editions of the campaign were motivated by the worrying results of Bulgarian students, which became visible after the announcement of the results of representative studies such as PISA in 2012 and 2016 in the field of secondary education. May the books be with us, and you be with the "March of the Books" and follow the latest news on the Bulgarian Book Association's Facebook page.
Source: IBBY and ABB
Add comment