News | Celebrations and Events | International Children's Book Day 2026

– Plant Stories and the World Will Bloom –

International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is a celebration that has been held annually since 1967, taking place during the first week of April, on around the anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen in 1805, which falls on 2 April. Andersen died in 1875, having already made a name for himself as a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, but he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales aimed at child audiences, which remain embedded in public memory and collective consciousness to this day.

The day, however, is not simply about honouring the life and work of Andersen, or any other author of children's tales, but of children's literature in general, to cultivate a love of reading among children and to highlight the importance of children's literature worldwide.

It takes place under the auspices of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), an organisation founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 1953 with the aim of establishing an international network of people from all over the world, committed to bringing books and children together. Towards this end, they outline their means of achieving their goals by promoting international understanding through children's books; giving children everywhere the opportunity to have access to books with high literary and artistic standards; encouraging the publication and distribution of quality children's books, especially in developing countries; providing support and training for those involved with children and children's literature; stimulating research and scholarly works in the field of children's literature; protecting and upholding the rights of children according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"IBBY is committed to the principles of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the United Nations in 1990. One of its main proclamations is the right of the child to a general education and to direct access to information. Thanks to IBBY's insistence, the resolution includes an appeal to all nations to promote the production and distribution of children's books."

The Golden Age of Children's Literature is considered to lie within the late nineteenth and early twentieth century period. This is the era when many of the classic children's stories, fables, fairy tales that are still in circulation today, were written down and published for the first time. It is suggested that "children's literature began in earnest in the eighteenth century, at the time when the concept of 'childhood' developed, when children began being treated differently than adults."

Among the figures from this period who stand out would be English publisher, John Newbery (1713-1767), often cited as the Father of Children's Literature. A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, which appeared in 1744, is considered the first modern children’s book created primarily for entertainment, helping to establish children’s publishing as a distinct commercial field.

Almost a century prior, however, according to Days of the Year website, the Czech educator, Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670), considered the father of modern education, gave the world his Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1658), which might be regarded as "the first children’s picture book, combining simple Latin text with woodcut images to teach reading and the nature of the world to children."

Today IBBY is comprised of 85 sections across the world operating on national, regional and international levels. Members include include "authors and illustrators, publishers and editors, translators, journalists and critics, teachers, university professors and students, librarians and booksellers, social workers and parents."

Each year, since 1967, a different National Section of IBBY is selected to act as international sponsor of ICBD. It decides upon a theme and invites a prominent author from the host country to write a message to the children of the world, and a well-known illustrator to design a poster. These materials are used in different ways to promote books and reading. Many IBBY Sections promote ICBD through the media and organize activities in schools and public libraries. Often, ICBD is linked to celebrations around children's books and other special events, which may include encounters with authors and illustrators, writing competitions or announcements of book awards.

Material and information used in the composition of this article was sourced and compiled from:

• Website of Checkiday

• Website of Days of the Year

• Website of International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)

• Website of the United Nations – International Convention on the Rights of the Child