The maiden Accra Children’s Book Festival has been scheduled for September 2019.
The event, also known as Accrachildfest, would afford young Ghanaian bookworms the opportunity to come face-to-face with their favourite authors as well as introduce them to new books on various subjects.
The event, open to all children would feature ‘babes in arms’ sessions to toddler storytelling and teenage crafting workshops.
Arguably the first ever children’s book festival in Ghana, the Accrachildfest would present rhyming fun, family performances, creative workshops and appearances from best-selling authors.
Accrachildfest is organised by the Accra International Book Festival (AIBF), which is the largest public celebration of literature in Accra.
In a statement, Executive Director of the Accra International Book Festival, Iris Naa Norkor Akwetey said the Book Festival aims at bolstering reading and writing among Ghanaian children.
“A befitting family legacy to bequeath to one’s children is to ensure that they are literate and book lovers,” she said.
Ms Akwetey explained that the objective of the Accrachildfest is to encourage parents to enjoy reading together with their children.
“We also want to encourage teachers to teach their students how to creatively interact with characters in the books they read,” the statement added.
The inaugural Accrachildfest will feature world-class children’s book writers from Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.
Parents and school authorities have been encouraged to take advantage of the event by registering their children and students.
The Accrachildfest represents the contribution of the Accra International Book Festival toward the building of the next generation of readers in the country.