Bookaroo – India's First Ever Festival of Children's Literature
Our November calendar is chock-full of events happening around the world. Each offers something for those interested in children’s literature and many highlight the multi-cultural aspects of children’s literature which we at PaperTigers love. A number of them take place annually; both the Santiago and Indonesia Book Fairs are celebrating their 28th year.
New to our calendar is a festival that I am sure will be a success – Bookaroo, India’s first- ever festival of children’s literature! Held in New Delhi on November 22 and 23rd, more than thirty-five children’s authors, illustrators and graphic artists from India, Australia, the UK and the USA will be involved. In an interview with journalist Seema Chowdhry, organizing members Anita Roy, Swati Roy and Jo Williams say:
“Unlike most children’s book fairs in India, we are not focusing solely on book sales. This festival will be a platform where children’s books will be viewed not just as objects, but as gorgeous, bouncy trampolines which will encourage their imagination and creativity. Since our aim is to present books and reading as a fun activity and not as a chore, we are keen that this festival be more of a family event rather than schools booking slots for the sessions. A good literature festival for children usually offers a wonderful day out for child and adult alike. And because it is all about books, it can help to encourage the reading habit. Bookaroo has put together a series of activities so that children are excited by books and get interested in them.”
The program events have been broken down into age- appropriate sessions, targeting kids from 4 – 14. Although all the events are free, pre-registration is required, with many of the programs already full. Organizers hope that Bookaroo is so successful that they will be able to offer it in Mumbai in January.
December 11th, 2008 at 9:00 am
[...] Bookaroo, India’s first ever festival of children’s literature took place November 22 and 23rd in New Delhi. Journalist Jai Singh attended the event and wrote an article about it in the Business Standard. He states: “India’s first literature festival for children is a reminder of the expanding market in kids’ writing. [...]