By Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
Dehradun, 3 Oct: The stage has been set! Valley of Words|Shabdavali will host its Children’s Literature Vertical on 8 October at the HimJyoti School, Dehradun.
In its third year running, the one-day event will bring together nine esteemed schools from the valley with over a hundred students who will participate in the Creative Book Reading at the festival. Alongside are a whole array of activities designed around the festival’s five shortlisted books under the Children’s Literature category.
Also making the day even more special are our three shortlisted authors, Lavanya Karthik, the author of The Girl Who climbed Mountains: Bachendri Pal; Achintyarup Ray, author of Jhupli’s Honey Box, and Raj Shekhar, author of Hum Jangal Ke Nagar Magar, who will be at the event.
Sharing more about the open access event, Dr Sanjeev Chopra, Festival Director, said, “Together with the HimJyoti School, Valley of Words will host the Children’s Reading Festival on 8th October in the school premises, where children from nearly ten schools will come, read, recite, declaim and enact the shortlisted books: The Girl Who climbed Mountains: Bachendri Pal; Jhupli’s Honey Box and Hum Jangal Ke Nagar Magar.
The students will also engage in Crosswords and Quiz based on these books. The Tweens, young teens, their parents, grandparents and teachers are surely going to have a fun filled learning experience.
Looking forward to a wonderful journey through the world of Children’s Literature, Ruma Malhotra, Principal, Him Jyoti School and VoW’s institutional partner for the event, stated, “It is both an honour and a privilege for us to host the Children’s Literature Vertical as an integral part of the Valley of Words event at Him Jyoti School. We take immense pride in being the venue for this event, which brings together nearly ten schools to participate in a Creative Book Reading endeavour.”
Furthermore, she stated, “We are privileged to have three distinguished authors who have graciously dedicated their time to join us in person.This platform holds a special place as it is truly unique in its mission. Our goal is to ignite a passion for reading among children, encouraging them to explore the captivating world of books.”
With each passing year, the Children Vertical has seen a growing number of schools and students coming forward to participate in the event, which is curated keeping young students in mind.
Curator of the event, Jyoti Dhawan added, “A book is a celebration of the author’s wondrous imagination on paper! Valley of Words in its 3rd year of Creative Book Reading event aims to nurture fun and excitement of learning through storytelling. From 6 leading schools to 9 this year, more than a hundred participants will use vibrancy of communication, cognitive and social skills to read, enact and creatively reproduce the 5 shortlisted books in the presence of our esteemed authors.”
The event is seen as a step towards attracting young minds to the enchantment of written words and the boundless creativity that springs from the pages of literature.
