On April 16th, Rutgers University hosted its annual celebration of International Children’s Book Day, bringing together students, faculty, and guests to share stories, songs, and performances from around the world.

This year, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY.org), the non-profit organization that launched the first International Children’s Book Day in 1967, named IBBY Netherlands as the official sponsor of the event. Their theme, “Freedom of Imagination,” echoed throughout Rutgers’ celebration.

Organized and led by SC&I Associate Professor of Practice, Library and Information Science Marc Aronson, the event has become a campus tradition that celebrates the power of storytelling to bridge culture and connect communities internationally.

For the first time, children’s books were read in both Greek and Turkish, expanding an already diverse program that included readings by speakers of Arabic, Spanish, Catalan, Bangla, Hindi, Spanish, Polish, and Italian. This year's lineup also featured songs in Valencian Catalan and a return of the traditional Japanese story art of Kamishibi.

The event brought together several departments within Rutgers including the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, the Language Engagement Project, and the language faculty. The translation department was also involved in the event.

Aronson emphasized that the annual celebration is about more than just stories, its aim is also to build global connections. “I think we're in a time where there's so much emphasis on borders, on restriction, on…anti-immigrant sentiment, nationalist sentiment, about culture belonging to one group or another,” he said. “I think it's really good to experience, not just hear about, cultures from everywhere.”

Over the years, the event has sparked meaningful moments of harmony, often in unexpected ways. In previous celebrations, for example, back-to-back readings of children’s books in Hebrew and Arabic revealed surprising common ground. “Completely unplanned, the stories have been so similar and so linked, and it’s wonderful that in this time where there’s so much tension and conflict going on in that area, to find bonds through these stories,” Aronson said.

Despite a global Zoom outage that occurred during this year's event, organizers quickly pivoted to Google Meet, allowing both in-person and virtual attendees to stay connected. "It was a success because we all enjoyed being there, because we pulled it off under potentially disastrous circumstances," Aronson said, adding that the enthusiasm for next year’s celebration is already building.

Looking ahead to future ICBD celebrations, Aronson hopes to expand the event further. He envisions “Holding a public event on a weekend where people could bring their children, and there would be booths with storytellers and performances in many languages from many cultures.”

In the meantime, Aronson encourages the Rutgers community to explore the International Youth Literature Collection housed on the third floor of the Alexander Library. “We're up to about 2,000 volumes now that you can take out, check out, you can explore,” Aronson said. “It's a gift to library students, teachers, education students, people who want to know how children are growing up in different cultures.”

Learn more about the Library and Information Science Department on the Rutgers School of Communication and Information website.