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Entries Accepted for The Growing up Asian in America Contest~ ongoing until Mar 10, San Francisco, CA, USA

2011 PBBY-Alcala Prize~ submissions accepted until Mar 30, Philippines

Sun Gallery’s Twenty-second Annual Children’s Book Illustrator Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 16, Hayward, CA, USA

15th Annual Writing for Children Competition~ submissions accepted until Apr 24, Canada

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Exhibit: Anita Lobel – All the World’s a Stage~ ongoing until May 28, Abilene, TX, USA

Look! The Art of Australian Picture Books Today~ ongoing until May 29, Melbourne, Australia

The Art Institute of Chicago Exhibit: Real and Imaginary: Three Latin American Artists – Raúl Colón, David Diaz and Yuyi Morales~ ongoing until May 29, Chicago, IL, USA

Animal Fair: Birds, Beasts, and Bugs in Children’s Book Illustrations~ ongoing until Jun 5, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

Seven Stories (the National Home of Children’s Books in Britain) Events~ Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

International Youth Library Exhibits~ Munich, Germany

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Exhibits~ Amherst, MA, USA

Dromkeen National Centre for Picture Book Art Exhibits~ Riddells Creek, Australia

Mirror, an Exhibition by Children’s Author and Artist Jeannie Baker~ Australia

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Events

New Zealand Book Month

Read Across America Day~ Mar 2, USA

Sutradhar’s Story Revolution~ Mar 2 – 5, Bangalore, India

Primary Source’s Global Read of The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez~ Mar 2 – 9

World Book Day~ Mar 3, United Kingdom and Ireland

Summer Reading Relay~ Mar 3, Melbourne, Australia

The Big Write Festival~ Mar 3 – 13, Stratford, United Kingdom

42nd Annual Georgia Children’s Book Awards and Conference on Children’s Literature~ Mar 4 – 5, Athens, GA, USA

Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 4 – 5, Redlands, CA, USA

Perth Writers Festival~ Mar 4 – 7, Perth, Australia

Penguin Books India Presents Spring Fever~ Mar 4 – 13, New Delhi, India

Your School Library’s Sixth International Professional Development Online Conference: Advocacy, Evidence and Image~ Mar 4 – 18

Shanghai International Literary Festival~ Mar 4 – 19, Shanghai, China

Western Washington University Children’s Literature Conference~ Mar 5, Bellingham, WA, USA

Singapore Young Author Award Ceremony~ Mar 5, Singapore

Singapore Children’s Book Club Discuss S. M. De Silva’s Blood on the Moon~ Mar 5, Singapore

Pratham Books Sabha 2011~ Mar 5, Bangalore, India

Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices Day~ Mar 5, Madison, WI, USA

World Book Night ~ Mar 5

International Research Conference: What Exactly is “Overseas Manga/Comics”? – The Forefront of Comics and Globalization~ Mar 6, Kyoto, Japan

The Poetry Society’s Foyle Young Poets 2011 Competition Launch~ Mar 7, United Kingdom

Engaging Hearts and Minds: Equity, Social Justice and Global Citizenship in Action~ Mar 7 – 8, Toronto, ON, Canada

YALSA’s Teen Tech Week~ Mar 7 – 13, USA

Share a Story – Shape a Future, A Blog Tour for Literacy: Unwrapping the Gift of Literacy~ Mar 7 – 11

New Dog, New Tricks: Insideadog Website Relaunch by the Centre for Youth Literature~ Mar 8, Melbourne, Australia

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature~ Mar 8 – 12, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Hong Kong International Literary Festival~ Mar 8 – 18, Hong Kong

World Read Aloud Day~ Mar 9

Children’s Literature Conference: The Power of Story~ Mar 10, Tucson, AZ, USA

SCBWI Lit Fest Dinner with Aleesah Darlison and Adrian Tilley~ Mar 10, Hong Kong

31st Annual Children’s Literature Conference~ Mar 11, DeKalb, IL, USA

Art Blocks for Ghana Online Auction~ Mar 12

Oxford Children’s Book Group Presents: Author Aidan Chambers in Conversation~ Mar 12, Oxford, United Kingdom

Silverfish Books’ Meet the Author Session: Singaporean Children’s Author Ho Lee-Ling~ Mar 12, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

CLN Presents: Picture Books as Writing Tools with author Lisa Bulllard~ Mar 12, Plymouth, MN, USA

Pratham Books Sabha 2011~ Mar 14, New Delhi, India

Somerset Celebration of Literature~ Mar 14 – 18, Mudgeeraba, Australia

14th Time of the Writer – International Writers Festival~ Mar 14 – 19, Durban, South Africa

School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books~ Mar 14 – Apr 4, USA

Supporting UAE Children’s Book Authors: The ‘Emirati Authors Write for Emirati Children’ Initiative at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair~ Mar 15 – 20, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Illustrated Talk with Author Shaun Tan: Untold Stories~ Mar 17, Melbourne, Australia

Children’s Book Illustration: The Picture Book World of Polly Dunbar~ Mar 17 – 24, London, United Kingdom

Singapore Book Club Discusses the Graphic Novel Gone Case~ Mar 18, Singapore

Celebration of Teaching and Learning~ Mar 18 – 19, New York, NY, USA

Salon du livre de Paris, Guest of Honour: Nordic Countries~ Mar 18 – 21, Porte de Versailles, France

Children’s Books Week~ Mar 19 – Apr 3, Flanders, Belgium

World Storytelling Day~ Mar 20

43rd Annual Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 20 – 22, Warrensburg, MO, USA

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination~ Mar 21

World Poetry Day (UNESCO)~ Mar 21

Harmony Day~ Mar 21, Australia

Seminar: Children’s Literature in Nordic Countries~ Mar 22, Paris, France

Reading the World: Exciting Literature for the Global Classroom~ Mar 22, Watertown, MA, USA

36th Annual CABE Conference: Language, Culture & Leadership – Co-creating Community~ Mar 23 – 26, Long Beach, CA, USA

A Different Trend: Canadian Children’s Literature in Sweden and Finland with Author Roy MacGregor~ Mar 24, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Myths and Fairy Tales in Film and Literature post-1900~ Mar 25 – 26, York, United Kingdom

Bangkok International Book Fair~ Mar 25 – Apr 6, Bangkok, Thailand

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Winners Announced~ Mar 29, Vimmerby, Sweden

Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Guest of Honour: Lithuania~ Mar 29 – 31, Bologna, Italy

World Book Summit~ Mar 31 – Apr 2, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Over the past year we have blogged about children reading aloud to dogs and about Ethiopia Reads’ donkey-drawn libraries but here is a first: children reading with donkeys.  To celebrate National Storytelling Week in the United Kingdom, The Donkey Sanctuary,  will be opening its doors to local groups and schools for storytelling sessions in the company of the donkeys!  Emma Foster reports:

The sanctuary’s education and activities team will be bringing donkey-related children’s stories to life with the assistance of puppets and props. During each session the children will have a refreshment break and then take part in donkey walking and grooming around the barns.

Janice Aherne, education and activities manager, said: “We are thrilled to be taking part in National Storytelling Week. It will give our staff the chance to put into practice their recently acquired skills following training from a professional storyteller.

“Our donkeys always enjoy playing to an audience and we can’t wait to share stories and puppet shows with the children.”

Places are limited so booking is essential, the charity said. There is no charge for groups attending, however donations to the sanctuary are welcome.

For more information click here.

The Donkey Sanctuary aims to protect donkeys and mules and promote their welfare worldwide. Every year on March 20th, The Donkey Sanctuary celebrates World Storytelling Day by working with children throughout the world, using stories and discussions, to encourage better attitudes to donkey welfare.

Photo credit: Ethiopa Reads’ Donkey Drawn Library

A global celebration of the art of oral storytelling, World Storytelling Day is celebrated every year on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, the autumn equinox in the southern. World Storytelling Day’s goal is to get everyone, everywhere to tell and listen to stories and to share their experiences.

The germ of World Storytelling Day originated in Sweden, with an event called “Alla berattares dag” (All Storytellers’ Day), which took place on March 20, 1991. The idea of honoring oral storytelling with a special day caught on over time, spreading to other Scandinavian countries as well as to Australia, North and South America. (For a complete history of its development, see here).

Growing in popularity every year, this now truly global celebration counts with the participation of over 25 countries from 5 different continents. The theme for this year’s World Storytelling Day is “DREAMS.” So dream big, and share your plans/results with us!

For more details and a calendar of storytelling events happening around the world, visit the website. Our thanks to Swedish storyteller Mats Rehnman for providing us with the World Storytelling Day logo.

(Click on event name for more information)

Shanghai International Literacy Festival~ Mar 1 – 15, Shanghai, China

The Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival~ Mar 2 – 12, Hong Kong

Adelaide Festival Awards For Literature Winners Announced~ Mar 2, Adelaide, Australia

Growing Up Asian in America Art & Essay Contest for Youth~ entry deadline Mar 6, San Francisco, CA, USA

World Book Day~ Mar 6, United Kingdom and Ireland

The 12th Annual Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival~ Mar 7 – 8, Redlands, CA, USA

Masak-Masak: A Potluck of Delectable Stories from Around the World~ Mar 8, Singapore

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Winner Announced~ Mar 12, Vimmerby, Sweden

World Storytelling Day~ Mar 20

World Poetry Day~ Mar 21

Harmony Day~ Mar 21, Australia

Bangkok International Book Fair~ Mar 26 – Apr 7, Bangkok, Thailand

The Toronto Festival of Storytelling~ Mar 28 – Apr 6, Toronto, ON, Canada

Storylines Margaret Mahy Award Lecture~ Mar 29, Pakuranga, New Zealand

Tom Fitzgibbon Award and Joy Cowley Award Winners Announced~ Mar 29, Pakuranga, New Zealand

Bologna Children’s Book Fair~ Mar 31 – Apr 3, Bologna, Italy

Hans Christian Anderson Awards Announced~ Mar 31, Bologna, Italy