About us
Czech Children's Book Centre, which is part of the Book Trail to Children association, will be a unique institution of its kind when it opens in September 2022. The aim is to support children's artistic creation and children's reading through workshops, talks, the book lounches or exhibitions in cooperation with many of Czech publishers. The programme involves Prague kindergartens and primary schools, children's homes and families with children. The Centre enables young readers to develop their imagination, critical thinking, reading and communication skills through quality children's literature.
In fact, it includes a library consisting of titles placed in the Best Children's Books catalogue, in which the highest quality children's titles awarded with the Golden Ribbon, Magnesia Literature or White Raven Award are selected each year by an expert committee. The workshops are based on these important titles, thus guaranteeing the high artistic level of each creative encounter. Last but not least, children are introduced to the creation of a literary work and their interest in artistic creation is kindled during workshops with writers, illustrators and other creators.
The Czech Children's Book Centre also organises creative workshops for the adult audience (master classes) - these are led by experienced lecturers who are dedicated to illustrating and writing books for children. It also holds conferences for teachers and librarians, creating a platform for the exchange of ideas, experiences and the latest trends in children's literature and reading education. Czech C'hildren's Book Centre also seeks to expand existing ways of supporting reading and to develop new innovative methods that meet current needs. Gradually, it will focus even more strategically on educational and methodological activities and create art forms and programmes that promote the development of cultivated reading in children. In addition, it plans to initiate activities at international level through public and professional forums and to provide a space for cooperation with the member countries of the International Board for the Book for Children (IBBY).
In the former Czechoslovakia, the BIBIANA House of Arts in Bratislava was founded in 1987 to promote children's art books and develop their creation, working with children's books and artistic illustrations (among other things within the BIB - Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava) in both countries. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, BIBIANA remained active only in Slovakia. The idea of establishing a new institution in the Czech Republic on the Bratislava model was conceived in the 1990s by Ivana Pecháčková, the founder of the Book Trails for Children association and publisher.
The original idea
"After a visit to the Norwegian Children's Book Institute - Norsk barnebokinstitutt, which was also founded in the 1980s by a two-person team in a small basement space, and which today has about twenty employees and is based in the National Library in Oslo, we were reassured that there is no need to start big and carry out dozens of activities immediately. On the contrary, it is practical to take the new project step by step and get into all the necessary corners of literature and art for children," says Jakub Pavlovský, chairman of the association and director of the CČDK.
Although CČDK is a project of the Book Trail for Children association, it is not only about presenting its own work, other Czech publishers involved in quality children's literature are also involved in the activities. "For this reason, we have decided to offer the space of the Centre free of charge to those interested so that they can organise their own workshops, christenings or discussions there," adds Pavlovský.
The author of the visuals is Daniel Rerko.
