Blooming pink bushes looked from the roof into the open window; their children's chairs stood right there. Kai and Gerda sat on their own and took each other's hands. The cold, deserted splendor of the Snow Queen's halls was forgotten by them as a heavy dream.
G.Kh. Andersen, « Snow Queen »
Every year on April 2, the birthday of the great fairy tale from Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen ( Hans Christian Andersen ), the whole world celebrates International Children's Book Day ( International Children's Book Day ). Its celebration was established in 1967 on the initiative and decision of the International Children's Book Council ( International Board on Books for Young People, IBBY ).
On this day, the organizers of the event, with particular enthusiasm emphasizing that it is necessary to read good books from an early age, thereby promoting, the enduring role of the children's book in the formation of the spiritual and intellectual appearance of the new generations of the Earth. Also among the goals of — Day, draw attention to literature, book art and book culture for children, to the problems of accessibility of children's books and the dissemination of children's reading.
I must say that children's literature appeared relatively recently. Until the mid-17th century, children were mostly told verbally, or they read about the same thing as parents, for example, fables. But basically the circle of children's reading came down to studying the Bible. In the 18th century, children read such famous works as « Robinson Crusoe » D. Defoe and « Gulliver's travels » J. Swift, collections of oriental tales were no less popular. Only in the 19th century could they read written works specifically for them, in particular — fairy tales of the Grimm brothers and G.Kh. Andersen, who contributed to the creation of a children's book.
Considerable attention was paid to the creation of children's literature in Russia. It is known that back in the 17th century, the hieromonk Savvatii wrote poetry specifically for children, and in the 18-19 centuries, children's works were created by A. Pushkin, S. Aksakov, A. Shishkov, A. Pogorelsky and others. Then the first children's magazines began to appear. No less well-known are Soviet children's writers and poets — A. Gaidar, N. Nosov, A. Barto, K. Chukovsky, V. Bianca, B. Zakhoder, E. Uspensky and many others.
Currently, children's literature — is a whole separate direction in the literature. Each year, one of the IBBY National Offices receives the honorary right to act as the international sponsor of this wonderful holiday — International Children's Book Day.
Also on Children's Book Day ( every two years ) children's writers and artists are awarded the main and most prestigious award in this literary field — G.Kh. International Prize. Andersen with the gold medal ( is also called « the Small Nobel Prize » ). The gold medal with the profile of the great storyteller is awarded to laureates at the next congress of the International Council for Children's Book, as well as the Honorary Diploma for individual books for children, which is awarded for illustrating children's books and their best translations into the languages of the world.
Also, traditionally, for Children's Book Day, many countries organize various exhibitions, contests, performances, conferences and festivals dedicated to the best children's works. And also — matinees and Children's and Youth Book Weeks, where modern children's writers and poets are invited, who themselves present their works and answer questions from little readers.