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BOOKS...Books and more books.
Somewhere it is written that there is an estimated 130 Million published books in the world.
And in the midst of all these books is our two books Namaste and Are you a Snow Leopard?.
Still, feels unreal saying it out loud.
World Book and Copyright Day is a celebration to promote the enjoyment of books and reading. Each year, on 23 April, celebrations take place all over the world to recognize the scope of books - a link between the past and the future, a bridge between generations and across cultures. 23 April is a symbolic date in world literature. It is the date on which several prominent authors, William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, all died. (Source: UNESCO)
And in that spirit, last Wednesday, April 19th, Sandra Shiwani van Doesburg (Founder/Author) had the pleasure of joining the children and teachers of SIS Swiss International School in Männedorf, Zurich, to celebrate World Book Day. Not only was it a great chance to share our books with the international group of kids, but more to engage with them and especially see them dress up in their favourite book characters.
Sandra did two separate sessions with Kindergarten 1 & 2 and then Grade 1 & 2.
"What I love about reading to different age groups is that they see the same book through a different lens, and the variety of the questions they ask always amazes me!"
Typically in the read-aloud, Sandra uses the Namaste book to greet the children and share the essence of Nepal with them. It is interesting to see the interpretations of the illustrations the children make and how engaged they are in learning about a new country. Then after, she reads Are you a Snow Leopard? and, as a last checkpoint, uses QueRy Van to delve further into the characters of the books and to answer any questions the children may have.
"One of the questions from the grade 1 & 2 read-aloud session that really struck me was when a child asked why I wrote a story of a Snow Leopard and a blue sheep as friends if the snow leopard eats/kills the blue sheep anyways. I asked the group back why they thought I wrote this. Then one girl replied that since the story is for younger kids, I did not want to tell the younger kids about death/killing, so I made all animal friends in the book. What can I say? A brilliant line of thought!"
Children indeed have a wonderous minds, and that is why with your books and reading session, we also aspire to ignite this curiosity in children.
After the read-aloud sessions, Sandra met and joined another author/ illustrator Tom Reed as they signed & sold books to their eager readers. Tom Reed is an English author/illustrator based in Zurich, and he has a wide variety of books that are quite unique. Sandra and her son had already picked their favourite, called The Shark who couldn't say "No"
"Children are the best judge for whether or not your books resonate with them. As children came to buy the books, they always shared something about what they liked about the books or didn't like i.e. having to pay for the books 😂".
Sandra pondered on the feeling of gratefulness by hearing the children enjoy the books, which further validates why we do what we do and the hopes of turning them into success stories. She found herself in happy tears as she got a nice Thank-You Book from the kids. A cherished memory to lock down for World Book Day 2023.
Thank you, SIS Swiss International School, for inviting us to be part of the children's journey of reading and loving books.
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