Children's Book Week is being celebrated in schools, libraries, bookstores and homes across the country this week. The event, however, isn't a recent one. In 1913, Frank Matthiews, the librarian for the Boy Scouts of America, cast the vision for a national Children's Book Week and traveled around the country to promote excellence in children's books. By 1916, the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association were sponsoring Good Book Week with the Boy Scouts of America.
In 1944, ownership of this event transferred to the newly-established Children's Book Council who administered the event in conjunction with Every Child a Reader -- a 501 (c)(3) literacy non-profit who still runs the event and instills a lifelong love of reading in children today!
This long history makes this festive week of reading the longest-running national literacy initiative in the United States.
Come check out the Sparkhouse Family online store to gift your little one with a special keepsake for Children's Book Week!
Originally Published 5/3/2016