April 2nd is International Children’s Book Day and is also Hans Christian Anderson’s Birthday. Each year a different country sponsors the event and picks a theme for that day. Last year was Russia and the theme was “Let Us Grow with the Book”.
I think this is a great day to not only read to your children, but to teach them about different cultures. You could explain that Russia is sponsoring this event and give some brief insight to who Russia even is and where they are.
Bringing culture into your growing child helps their prospective of the world broaden and for them to be more aware of different people/things. By doing this your child can grow as a person and when older they will be able respect the people that are different than themselves.
Also reading to your child is a great thing! Sometimes it takes a while, but that is how picture books are set up. They are set up to let your child look at the pictures and use their imagination while you are reading; hence all the questions they ask as you are reading. As they get older and read books with fewer pictures, they use their imagination in a different way and actually picture the pictures! It is amazing isn’t it?
So remember Sunday April 2nd, read to your child for International Children’s Book Day! It will not only let you bond with your child, but it will help them grow!