See Dick. See Dick Run. Run Dick Run. See Jane. See Jane Run After Jack. Run Jane Run. These words comprise some of the first words we ever learned to read on our own, and are recognizable to many people of many different cultures. Along with these tales are stories of the hungry caterpillar and the stories of the strange and wonderful creatures of the world of Serendipity. Children’s Book Day celebrates these and the thousands of other books that parents have read and shared with their children to encourage literacy, and stimulate the growth of their imagination.

History of Children’s Book Day

We all have our favorite books from childhood, ones that set the tone for our imaginations and that bring back memories of home when we remember them, and some small comfort when we run our fingers over the well-worn and loved spines of the stories of our youth. The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) founded Children’s Book Day in 1967. As an international non-profit organization promoting the importance of literacy and reading to our children, IBBY works tirelessly to promote Children’s Book and Authors, and organize events in schools and libraries all over the world to get children reading.

How to Celebrate Children’s Book Day

What was your favorite story as a kid? Children’s Book Day encourages you to get it out and read it through again, maybe to your children or grandchildren. Walk down the paths of memory and think about all the times you heard these tales and what they mean to you. Was it the soft spoken voice of a grandmother reading you tales of high adventure with the Berenstain Bears? Or maybe Peter Rabbits exploits in Mr. McGregor’s garden were those that made you giggle and laugh as you were regaled with tales of the trouble he got into, the sneeze in the flowerpot, and the scattering of the beautiful buttons from his new jacket.

Children’s Book Day gives you the opportunity to take it out and relive it once again, and when you’ve finished reading it perhaps you’ll find its time to take this small microcosm of a world that’s contained within and pass it on to someone new. Schools and libraries accept donations of books and time during this holiday, taking in loved treasures that they might provide them to a whole new generations of readers. Spread the love of reading with a child on Children’s Book Day, and help foster the imagination of the next generation.