IBBY declared April 2nd, the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen, for International Children's Book Day. Every year on April 2nd, a different national section prepares a poster and a message. The authors of this year's message come from Cyprus. The message was written by Elena Perikleous and illustrated by Sandra Eleftheriou.

The writer of the month for April at the Mišek Knjižku Library will be Sebastjan Pregelj, who will be hosted on the international day, April 2nd at 9 am. 

Sebastjan Pregelj: "The world must be seen with eyes wide open!"»

 

EPISTLE

Elena Perikleous: The Garden of Blooming Stories

Once upon a time, a child was born who wanted to experience something more than fairy tale heroes who only experienced a happy ending.

He grew up and changed. He read and took on various forms. He was Don Quixote and fought windmills. He was Alice and brought miracles to life. He was Robin Hood and saved the forests. He was a wolf who howled at the moon with his packs.

Years passed, but the world wasn't changing the way he wanted.
But he managed to create his own world. In a courtyard with a garden. He put everything he loved in it.

The years continued to pass,
But he became wiser as he read, so he found a solution.

Autumn came. He dug the soil well, then began to plant.
Winter has arrived.
He waited for the snow to start melting. With a select group of books, it wasn't hard to wait.

The first shoots sprouted in the spring.
Stems and branches grew, the first bud sprouted.
Colorful scents filled his soul.

And in the summer?
Boats, sailboats, balloons, bicycles... He traveled everywhere.

Now he firmly knew that this was the only way he could change the world.
He became a gardener.

A gardener in a garden of magical stories.
He planted words and nurtured images. He watered them with magic and watered them with imagination. And so the stories began to grow.

And then? He pruned love and handed out bouquets to passersby.
Bouquets of peace, hope, strength and faith in the impossible.
Bouquets of tiny miracles for everyone.

Every spring, on April 2nd,
the stories he planted turned the world into a blooming garden.

Oh, and this: he shared his knowledge of the art of planting with young and old at gardening workshops.

So his garden became the Garden of Hope,
and his courtyard is the Courtyard of Miracles.
The Miracle Worker always stayed there,
wove the red threads of his stories.

Translated by Jelena Isak Kres

 

You are also invited to view the brochure prepared by the librarians in the children's department.

International Children's Book Day - Message 2026