It’s February 14th and time to celebrate!   Besides giving chocolate or candy for Valentine’s Day, do consider joining in the International Book Giving Day celebrations and showing some love by giving a child a new, used or borrowed book! International Book Giving Day is a volunteer initiative aimed at increasing children’s access to and enthusiasm for books.

• Most children in developing countries do not own books.
• In the United Kingdom, one-third of children do not own books.
• In the United States, two-thirds of children living in poverty do not own books.

International Book Giving Day’s focus is on encouraging people worldwide to give a book to a child on February 14th. Individuals are invited to 1) give a book to a friend or family member, 2) leave a book in a waiting room for children to read, or 3) donate a gently used book to a local library, hospital or shelter or to an organization that distributes used books to children in need internationally.

In addition, people are encouraged to support the work of nonprofit organizations (i.e. charities) that work year round to give books to children, such as Room to Read, Books for Africa, Book Aid International, The Book Bus, Indigenous Literacy Foundation, Pratham Books and PaperTigers’ WaterBridge Outreach~  Books + water: nourishing the mind and body.

As soon as I frost my Valentine’s Day cake, I’ll be heading out to my local library to drop off a bag of gently read children’s and YA books.  Show your love and get involved too! International Book Giving Day is truly an international holiday and last year was celebrated by people in Australia, Canada, South Africa, France, India, Ireland, Japan, the Phillippines, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US! Visit the International Book Giving Day website, facebook page or twitter account (#giveabook) to see how others are celebrating and share your plans.