The Amar Ekushey Book Fair turned into a haven for children as they visited the fair in throngs along with their parents on Friday, the weekly holiday.
Bangla Academy authority has arranged a “Children’s Hour” (Shishu Prohor) to make the month-long fair more attractive to children, on every Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 1pm, at the children's corner in Suhrawardy Udyan.
The presence of children and adolescents was noticeable throughout the fair on Friday.
Suchona Biswas, a second grader from Purana Paltan, came with her parents to participate in the Children’s Hour.
She said: “I have spoken with Halum and Tuktuki (costumed characters from the popular children’s series Sisimpur) and visited many stalls and also bought seven books.
“I attend the fair with my parents every year and I also love to buy story and drawing books.”
Four-year-old Arnab Ahmed from Mirpur said: “There are a lot of books with beautiful and colourful covers. I bought one story book and three drawing books.”
Arnab’s mother Fatema Akhter said: “He loves to listen to stories from me.”
Zakir Hossain, a government employee from Matijheel said: 'I bought 10 to 12 books from Sisimpur stall for kids.”
"Every parent should bring their children to the fair,” he added.
When asked about the reason behind bringing his children to the fair, Rakib Ahmed, a resident of Mohammadpur said: “Because I want to give them happiness.”
“Nowadays, our children pass their time with electronics devices, watching cartoons, video stories from youtube. But the book fair still gives them joy,” he said.
Praising the arrangement of Sisimpur, Roushaon Ara, a resident of Ibrahimpur in the capital, said it has been a source of pleasure and amusement for her children.
“I think this arrangement is giving them joy as well as enriching them with practical knowledge,” she said.
Parvez Ahmed, from Sisimpur stall, said: “Children are happy to see their favourite characters from the TV screen in real life.”
US ambassador visits book fair
US Ambassador Earl R Miller visited the Amar Ekushey Book Fair and spent his time with children, writers and book lovers during the Children’s Hour.
He also visited the Sisimpur stall, the Bangladeshi version of Sesame Street.
“Sisimpur, a educational program for children, delivers critical literacy and mathematic skills, as well as strong social and health related messages nationwide,” he said.
Sisimpur is watched by more than three million households each week and is the most popular children's educational television program, and third most viewed of all television shows, in Bangladesh.
After interacting with the children, Miller told reporters that he is amazed to see the young writers and children at the fair, some of whom also gifted him with books written by them.
“The high number of child writers indicates the literacy is increasing in the country,” he said.
The US envoy also said he is impressed to have a gift from a 14-year-old writer, who wrote a book at the age of 11.
“The presence of young people is wonderful and the month long book fair is uniquely designed and well attended,” he said.
The ambassador further said: “The book fair taking place, in the month of Language Movement, and the International Mother Language Day, gives a message to the young generation about the history of the nation.”
