Today is the International Children´s Book Day. It´s celebrated on the 2nd of April every year to conmemorate the birth of a famous writer for kids: Hans Christian Andersen. He wrote hundreds of marvellous stories. I´m sure you know many of them: "The little mermaid", "Thumbeline", "The Snow Queen", "The emperor´s new clothes", "The ugly duckling", ... All of us have grown listening to one of these tales. And now that we are old, we can re-read them by our own. Now enjoy watching this tribute to him made by Disney.
Since 1967, on Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, 2 April, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire the love of reading among children and to call attention to children's books. Each year a different National Section of IBBY has the opportunity to be the international sponsor of ICBD. It decides upon a theme and invites a prominent author from the host country to write a message to the children of the world and a well-known illustrator to design a poster. These materials are used in different ways to promote books and reading. Many IBBY Sections promote ICBD through the media and organize activities in schools and public libraries. Often ICBD is linked to celebrations around children's books and other special events that may include encounters with authors and illustrators, writing competitions or announcements of book awards. The 2010 international sponsor of ICBD is Spain. The theme is "Un libro te espera, búscalo! A book is waiting for you, find it!" .
Celebrate ICBD with a trip to the library and buy a book you really like! A book can help you to learn about people from other countries, to appreciate and respect other cultures, and to get along with others. Í want you to read along this famous story: "The gingerbread man". Enjoy it!
