World Book Day

Last Saturday (April 23) I had a visitor. She was selling educational books on the occasion of the World Book Day. It was an encouraging thought. But I was surprised at the girl’s behavior. She first pointed out the importance of reading books for children. I informed her that being a book fan myself, I had always encouraged my daughter to read books. My daughter’s tiny library adorns her room. She has always collected books through out the years. It comprises of picture books to those written by Enid Blyton. The girl insisted that I look through some of her books. As I had already gone through the collections recently when I visited Landmark Book Shop, I refused. She became sarcastic. She pointed out that we would visit shops like Landmark but would ignore books from her.

This whole behavior surprised me. The whole point of World Book Day is to celebrate book reading. Although I understood that the girl must have been working hard in the sun, I felt her behavior was inexcusable. She contradicted the whole objective of World Book Day.

Incidentally, World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a celebration of books and reading. It originated in Catalonia, where it was the custom to gift books on St. George’s Day.