International Children’s Book Day - School library activities

 International Children’s Book Day is the perfect spark for creativity. Celebrated every April 2^nd , —the birthday of the beloved storyteller Hans Christian Andersen—,  it invites children to step into stories, imagine without limits, and transform reading into a playful, hands-on adventure.

Established in 1966 by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the day shines a spotlight on the magic of books and their power to inspire young readers. Each year, a different country takes on the honour of sending a special message to children everywhere, accompanied by an illustrated poster.

This year, the Netherlands was entrusted with this role, represented by the award-winning author and poet Rian Visser, who shared her beautiful poem “The Language of Images.”

At our school, we marked the day with creative library activities for 4^th- and 5^th-graders.

In the 4th grade, the poem was read aloud while the students kept their eyes closed—free to picture the images painted by the poet’s words through the lens of their own imagination. This exercise reminded us that literature comes alive only when the reader actively participates in shaping its meaning. This was followed by a discussion, and the students were asked to transform their inner visions into drawings, with each one being a unique interpretation of the verses.

As the poet herself concludes in her final lines:

“…These words belong to you

even though they came from me”.

In the 5th grade, the activity took on a different twist. After reading the poem, the students explored the variety of ways in which books enrich our lives—sparking off imagination, enhancing our creative thinking and opening new worlds. The learners were invited to create visual metaphors for books such as a lighthouse showing the way, a match igniting creativity or a window to the outside world. Through their illustrations, they captured the symbolic light books bring, the values they nurture, the horizons they broaden, and the inspiration they offer , making us see the world with new eyes.

Because, after all, books are like the magical fairy dust of stories: they can lift us up and make us fly!