World Children's Book Week is a week-long celebration of children's books.It was started in 1919 and is celebrated primarily in schools, libraries,and by bookstores. Typical events during Children's Book Week include storytelling, author visits, and activities related to books. The goal of Children's Book Week is to encourage a love of reading and books among children.
Franklin K. Matthiews, the librarian of the Boy Scouts of America thought up the idea of creating a Children's Book Week, In 2008, Children’s Book Week moved from November to May. In Turkey however The World Children's Book Week is still celebrated in the second week of November.
The Children’s Book Council Foundation, ‘Every Child a Reader’ is responsible for planning official events and creating materials.
Unfortunately in Turkey most schools don’t encourage children to enjoy reading !! Very often students have to read certain books from a specified book list. In most cases the books on this list are usually quite difficult and heavy .In addition they are often forced to read a certain book for their exams.The end result being that children form a negative attitude to reading They see reading as a chore not as something to be enjoyed .For this reason most children seem to dislike reading..!!
If a child is dyslexic then the situation is made much worse as they may well already have a negative attitude to reading since they find it difficult to read !!
Children's reading preferences or reading speed and level are not taken into consideration. Generally the school administration,select certain books according to the class grade level and which are related to exam subjects. Unfortunately this makes reading a nightmare for dyslexic children.
Reading needs to be made more enjoyable for children in order to get them to read more. World Childrens Book Week is generally viewed by many schools as just a formality. However it could be celebrated in a more interesting, creative and interactive manner.
Here are a few suggestions;
Every class could convert their classroom door into a cover of a book.
Children could dress in a costume of a hero from a book they
like.
Children could make up a play about a short story they have read and act it out.
Mothers and fathers could be invited to read a story they like to the children.
In short, this week can be made more fun and enjoyable !!!
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