International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) is annually celebrated on or around April 2 in memory of Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday. The purpose of the day is to recognize the power of reading and the role of books in the development and education of children. The day also aims to inspire the love of reading among children. The ICBD has been organized every year since 1967 by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), which is a non-profit organization that promotes children’s literature and encourages young people to read. The IBBY was founded in Zurich, Switzerland and has about 70 member countries which are called National Sections.

Each year, one of these national sections is chosen to be the national sponsor of ICBD. The sponsor then has the responsibility of choosing a theme for the day and invites a prominent author to write a slogan for the day and an illustrator to create a poster for it. These posters are then used for a variety of promotional materials and to spread the word about ICBD in schools, libraries and other public areas.The host country for International Children’s Book Day 2018 is Latvia, with the annual message being written by poet Inese Zandere. International Children’s Book Day features many activities that celebrate children’s literature throughout the world. In addition to reading children’s books, common activities often include events with prominent authors of children’s books, book awards and writing contests.

International Children’s Book day is a day to recognise the role of books in the development and education of children.