Celebrate Children’s Book Week!
Why spend a whole week celebrating children’s books?
Actually, the question is why spend two whole weeks celebrating children’s books?
But really, the question should be why not spend EVERY WEEK celebrating children’s books?!
Twice a year, the nonprofit group Every Child a Reader plans official events for Children’s Book Week and creates materials to support these events, which engage schools, libraries, homeschools, and bookstores across the country. Get step-by-step drawing lessons from talented illustrators, use special educator kits designed to promote literacy, and connect with other readers through the How Do You Book challenge!
Children’s Book Week was established over 100 years ago. That’s 100 years of people working hard to promote books and reading to kids. That’s how important it is to get books into the hands of children.
Children’s books are the first door many kids step through to see the world beyond their own life. Books offer information, connection, revelation, and a deeper experience. We read to learn, to empathize, and to inform our lives as well as possible.
And as children’s books are challenged and banned across the country in increasing numbers, having a week that focuses on what books do for kids is even more crucial. This is a chance to join in the growing chorus of voices that are pointing out that all kids need to see themselves in books. We need characters from all different backgrounds, characters who struggle with all different challenges, characters who can bring joy to all children.
So yes, let’s celebrate Children’s Book Week. Let’s read to kids and listen to them read to us. Let’s organize author and illustrator classroom visits. Let’s find books for kids who claim to hate reading, who have trouble reading, who feel like they’ve already read everything.
Keep kids reading, because a population who reads is one that thrives.
Plus, reading is just a lot of fun.
Check out our Learning Center where there’s loads of downloadable activities!
