Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, 2 April, International Children's Book Day is celebrated all over the world to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books.
The celebratory day is coordinated by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), a non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing children and books together. IBBY has members from over 70 countries, who work individually and together to promote and support children's literature and reading.
Each year, a different section of IBBY sponsors the worldwide event. This year, EBBY, the Egyptian section of IBBY, has chosen the theme for the celebration – “I am the World” – and the International Children’s Book Day poster for 2009 was illustrated by Egyptian artist and former Disney animator, Hani D. El-Masri.
Visit the IBBY website to read the special message EBBY have written for this year's International Children's Book Day.
The back page of Read It magazine features a list of fiction books set in different cultures - all are riveting reads, and available from the school library.
