COLOMBO : International Children’s Book Day is an annual celebration of the birthday of Danish author and poet, Hans Christian Andersen every 2nd day of April.
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author famous for his fairy tales, including the Little Mermaid, the Emperor’s New Clothes, and Thumbelina. He was born on 2nd April 1805.
From 1967, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), has been celebrating International Children’s Book Day on 2nd April. IBBY is a non-profit international organization which aims to promote reading and instigate the importance of books among the young. It was founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 1953 and has many national sections around the world including Sri Lanka.
The objective of this day is to inspire love for reading among children and to emphasize the importance of books. Benefits of reading includes, interalia, brain exercise, vocabulary improvement, empathy and imagination, morale improvement etc
