International Children’s Book Day Celebrated in Old Havana

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 2 (acn) Celebrations to mark International Children’s Book Day continue in Havana, which pay tribute to Danish narrator Hans Christian Andersen, born on April 2, 1805.

On Saturday morning, Old Havana’s Armed Square was filled with short stories, music and poetry, with the participation of the groups Giganteria, Espacio Teatral Aldaba and Retacitos.

Organized by the City Historian Office, the Children’s Literature Department of the
Association of Cuban Writers and Artists and the Gente Nueva and Capitan San Luis publishing

houses, this book fiesta at the capital’s historic area began on March 26 with the concert Ana la campana, by Liuba Maria Hevia, which brought together hundreds of children, youngsters and adults at Cathedral Square.

During the course of his life, Andersen wrote some 170 short stories, in which daily life or mythological characters play the leading role. His work was made popular throughout the world, where generations of men and women hade grown up with his paradigmatic stories, like The Ugly Duckling and The Snow Queen.

Many of his works, which are currently classics for children, were originally written for adults, but youngsters later on made them their own, as it happened with Gulliver’s Travels, Treasure Island or Platero and I.

Andersen, the Countess de Segur, the Grimm brothers, Oscar Wilde, Stevenson, Kipling and Jules Verne are among the most widely read authors of that time.

Children’s literature is essential to offer ethical training to the little ones, open their minds to the rich knowledge treasured by mankind and motivate their curiosity towards science, art or any other sphere favoring spiritual growth.

cubanews/culture/trm/trm/trm