Ideal time for everyone to celebrate World Book Day

With millions of people confined to their homes, literacy activists have come together to encourage people to use the time they now have to embrace books. Picture: Marvin Charles/Cape Argus

With millions of people confined to their homes, literacy activists have come together to encourage people to use the time they now have to embrace books. Picture: Marvin Charles/Cape Argus

Published Apr 23, 2020

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Cape Town - Today, the world commemorates World Book Day.

With millions of people around the world confined to their homes in an effort to flatten the curve and curb the spread of Covid-19, literacy activists have come together to encourage people to use the time they now have to embrace books and help establish a better culture of reading.

Activists advocating for reading say now would be an opportune time for people to use books as an alternative coping mechanism, "escape" or way to pass time, and encourage their

children to read more.

Samantha Choles, spokesperson for the Paper Manufacturers' Association of SA, said that while people were faced with information overload, now would be the time to read paperbacks and persuade children to do so as well.

Choles said: “Parents in my own circles are admitting their kids are getting too much screen time, as they have to find ways to work and keep them entertained. Books, especially printed ones, provide a place for escape.

"Young children can learn basic motor development skills by interacting with age-appropriate books, while older children can improve their language and vocabulary by working through a storybook or novel.”

Here are how some South Africans are celebrating today:

%%%twitter https://twitter.com/Lesufi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lesufi- What book are you reading today? I challenge you to do one also - see mine here https://t.co/1g9mRCgerU #WorldBookDay

— Debbie Schafer (@DebbieSchafer)

%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldBookDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldBookDay https://t.co/dk3mUWVkme

— Chelsea Geach (@ChelseaGeach)

%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldBookDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldBookDay pic.twitter.com/OGGZcbiwvY

— Melanie van Wyk (@melvanwykct)

@TheCapeArgus

[email protected]

Cape Argus

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