1st picture book center bolsters reading in Kaohsiung

2015/08/26

Kaohsiung City’s first International Picture Book Center is boosting interest in reading among children, with more than 1 million family visitors experiencing the facility since its launch at the start of the year.

Based in Kaohsiung Main Public Library, the center comprises paper and electronic titles from home and abroad. Selections include 2013 Bologna Children’s Book Fair listing “Auntie Tigress and Other Favorite Chinese Folk Tales” and 2014 The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books winner “Where’s Mommy?”

The former is written by Wang Gia-zhen and illustrated by her sister Eva Wang of Taiwan, while the latter is written by Beverly Donofrio and illustrated by Barbara McClintock of the U.S.

According to Kaohsiung City Government, the center is a natural fit for the southern port metropolis given that harbors are traditionally places where information is exchanged worldwide.

“As a child’s first reading experience, picture books help sow the seeds of learning, unlock creativity and pave the way toward developing an independent, multicultural mindset,” a KCG official said. “They further cultivate young talents on the road to transforming the city’s cultural landscape and creating brighter prospects for future generations.”

One important aspect in making the center more user-friendly is organization of its inventory on the basis of rhymes and associated memories. This enables young patrons to easily locate books in a manner more compatible with their thought processes.

The center is one of many local government-backed literary initiatives underway in Kaohsiung. More than 60 libraries and branches are in place, and such facilities can even be found in a number of the city’s metro stops.

Examples include the reading centers at Aozihdi and Sinyi Elementary School Stations. The former boasts donated titles and a parent-child space filled with stuffed toys, while the latter is a species of book exchange in which borrowers pass loan items to the next reader without returning it to the center.

Special illustrated-book themed stores like Dandelion Family Library and Peggy Bookstore are also popping up throughout the city.

Founded by Dandelion Organization of Storytelling as Literacy Advocacy, DFL offers a 3,000-plus selection complemented by exhibitions, performances, seminars and storytelling in an open and relaxed setting. Peggy Bookstore is well-known for its 99 percent English picture book collection, as well as literature spanning the children and young adult categories.

Other activities provided by these centers include picture book readings, literacy games and family participation events.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=234215&ctNode=413)