Public libraries under the Ministry of Culture have organized numerous activities to commemorate the Children’s and Youth Book Day, celebrated on April 2nd. The program includes workshops, storytelling sessions, performances, and theatrical visits to promote reading among the youngest. The Center for Andalusian Letters (CAL) and the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH) are also part of this initiative.
The Minister of Culture and Sports, Patricia del Pozo, emphasized «the vital service that public libraries provide to society and culture, fostering and reinforcing that personalized relationship we have with books. Andalusian libraries are seeing an increase in users, specifically one and a half million each year with over 300,000 loans.»
Poetry and music will be the tools used by the Provincial Library Francisco Villaespesa in Almería to join the commemoration with the presentation of the book ‘Animal Poems’ (SM Editions) by María del Carmen Quiles, accompanied by music from Juan Muñoz and the participation of Ana María Romero Yebra. This illustrated book features a selection of 26 poems celebrating the diversity and characteristics of different species.
The Provincial Public Library in Cádiz will host a puppet theater performance by the company Marimba Marionettes on Wednesday, April 2nd, featuring the play ‘Tiny Mummy’, a different fairy tale where the protagonist must distinguish between those who accept her as she is and those who do not.
The Provincial Library in Córdoba ‘Grupo Cántico’ has organized the ‘Fantasy Book-Game Workshop’, where participants will be divided into groups to experience an adventure through reading. Each group will have to choose a different path depending on the story and how they want to resolve it.
The Provincial Public Library in Granada will celebrate the Children’s Book Day with a storytelling session by the writer José Morales. This theatrical narration of various stories is aimed at an audience between 3 and 9 years old. Additionally, the Andalusia Library, located in the same building, will host a Disney music concert performed by students from the Victoria Eugenia Higher Music Conservatory in the city.
The Provincial Library in Huelva has planned a storytelling activity and an artistic and literary creation workshop titled ‘The Forgetful Pirate’. Children aged 5 to 12 will be encouraged to sculpt the pirate from the story with clay, enhancing their creativity after the reading and seeing how they imagined it during the narration.
The Provincial Library in Jaén will move the commemoration to Friday, April 4th, with a storytelling session ‘Traveling Books, Adventurous Tales’ by Noelia Camacho, suitable for all audiences. The next day, the Library in Málaga will host a children’s craft workshop by Culturama, focusing on creating a carousel book.
Lastly, the Provincial Library in Seville will celebrate the Children’s and Youth Book Day with a workshop led by Irene Reina, focusing on ‘Personajísimos’ where participants will invent new characters and strange creatures that will be brought to life.
In addition to the library offerings, the Center for Andalusian Letters (CAL) has organized a meeting with the writer Carles Esquembre, a comic author, illustrator, and musician. This event will take place at the CAL headquarters in Málaga on April 2nd at 11:30 am, as part of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Antonio Machado’s birth. The Center will also announce the winners of the slogan competition to promote reading, which involved numerous public schools and institutes in the region.
Concluding the program is the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage, presenting materials created by the Scientific Culture Unit for schoolchildren and young audiences of all levels. These materials, designed in comic style, educational games, or cut-outs, aim to disseminate the restoration and underwater archaeology projects undertaken by this institution.