International Children's Book Day 2025

Join the ChLA International Committee in celebrating International Children's Book Day (ICBD) on April 2nd!

About ICBD

ICBD is a worldwide celebration of reading and children's literature meant to inspire and promote a love of children's books.

History

Every year, on or around Hans

Christian Andersen’s birthday of 2 April,

International Children’s Book Day (ICBD)

is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and

to call attention to children’s books. The

International Board on Books for Young

People (IBBY), an international, non-profit

organization has been sponsoring the event

since 1967.

ICBD 2025

In 2025, the day is sponsored by IBBY-Netherlands and the poster is made by two Dutch creators of children’s books. The theme of the day is: The freedom of imagination, and the motto is the last sentence of the poem ‘The Language of Pictures’: ‘Make pictures for my poem, and please feel free:

these words belong to you even though they came from me.’

The Freedom of Imagination

In high-quality children’s books, the reader’s imagination is kindled and developed. These books help children to explore their imagination, to develop their creativity and to see the world in a new way. Good books invite readers to interpret the words for themselves, making the story their own.You can download lesson suggestions (in English) based on the theme for three different age groups (ages 4–6, 6–9, and 9–14) here: www.ibby-nederland.nl/icbd2025.

International Competition

Make a drawing, painting or some other kind of art based on the poem ‘The Language of Pictures’. Then take a photograph of your art and (optionally) a photograph of yourself with your artwork and email it to your national IBBY section or directly to IBBY-Netherlands: ibby.secretariaat@gmail.com. All the children around the world who are taking part in International Children’s Book Day are invited to join in! IBBY-Netherlands will put all the entries on their website and select the winners, who will be rewarded with a package of books for their school. This virtual exhibition is our way of celebrating the freedom of imagination.

The poem comes from the illustrated poetry collection Alle wensen van de wereld (2021) by Rian Visser and illustrator Janneke Ipenburg. This book was awarded a Zilveren Gri el in the Netherlands and the Gouden Poëziemedaille (Gold Poetry Medal) in Belgium.

Rian Visser (b. 1966) is a Dutch children’s book writer and poet. She writes funny and exciting books that are a perfect match for children’s interests. Together with the illustrator Janneke Ipenburg, she has created the poetry collections Alle wensen van de wereld (2021) and Het is een zachte dag vandaag (2024). In 2022, Rian Visser won a Zilveren Gri el and the Gouden Poëziemedaille (Gold Poetry Medal).

Rian Visser is very active in education. She designs digital lessons about creative writing and reading promotion, which teachers can use for free. From 2024 to 2026, she has officially been appointed Dutch Children’s Laureate.

Janneke Ipenburg (b. 1979) is a Dutch illustrator of children’s books. She has made two poetry collections with Rian Visser, including Het is een zachte dag vandaag (2024). As an author/illustrator, she created the picture book Voor altijd bij jou (2023), a story about being connected in spite of an immeasurable distance. In addition to her work as an illustrator, Janneke has worked on a number of animation fi lms, and she is currently working as a character designer on a large Chinese stop-motion animation. In 2023, Janneke was on the longlist of the World Illustration Awards.

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To learn more about the International Committee's relationship with IBBY and our other partnering organizations, visit our Resources Page.

How are you celebrating International Children's Book Day?