World Children's Book Day is celebrated every year on April 2, the day the great Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen was born. It was established by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in 1966. Since then, every year, a different national section of this organization prepares a message and a poster that are distributed around the world, with to emphasize the value of books and reading and to encourage international cooperation in the development and dissemination of literature for children and young people.
n 2022, the Department of Canada is responsible for the material of the celebration. The message was written by award-winning author Richard Van Camp. The poster was created by award-winning illustrator and author Julie Flett. In all countries, children, writers, illustrators, translators, librarians, publishers and educators celebrate this world day with various school events, , bookstores, squares and other places, thus showing their love and interest in books and reading.
In Greece, as every year, the Hellenic Department of IBBY - Greek Children's Book Circle took care to translate the message into Greek and urges those interested in children and books to contribute to the celebration of World Children's Book Day. The poster with the message was printed in Greek with the sponsorship of Patakis Publications and is distributed with their care.THE MESSAGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOK ORGANIZATIONFOR YOUTH (IBBY) FORWORLD CHILDREN'S BOOK DAY 2.4.2022
Stories are wingsthat help you fly high every day.Richard Van Camp (Canada)Reading is freedom. Reading is breath-taking.Reading lets you see the world differently and invites you into worlds you will never want to leave.Reading allows your spirit to dream.They say that books are friends for our whole life and I agree.Your ideal universe widens when you read.Stories are wings that help you fly high every day, so find the books that speak to your spirit, your heart, your mind.The books are medical. They heal. They reassure. They inspire. They teach.Let's thank the storytellers, the readers and the listeners. Let's be thankful for the books. They are medicines for a better, brighter world.Thank you very much!(Translation: Loti Petrovic-Androutsopoulou)
