Invitation for the night with Andersen

Dear Children! Dear Librarians! Dear Friends of Children´s Books!

Do you know what books are doing at night?

Have you ever heard about a night in a library?

We would like to let you know about a night of fairy tales which the children in the Czech Republic will experience for the twelveths time next year. On Friday, March 30th 2012, a Night with Andersen will happen in many towns and villages - at the place where imaginative librarians, clever teachers and educators prepare an interesting programme for the young audience with a night reading of fairy tales. This mutual event of the Association of Children´s Libraries of SKIP. The organisers also want to you about remind the children´s book festival which is celebrated in many world countries under the occasion of the birthday of the famous Danish fairy-tales writer Hans Christian Andersen.

In this year, this event was organised in more than 1.065 places of our country. The Internet helped us to communicate and prepare competitions, quiz and programmes in many libraries in Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenija and Czech schools without borders in many countries. Thanks to the Internet we knew what happened in each place. The libraries were visited by many different characters from the fairy-tales, and one mutual poem was written. There was also a search for a treasure in one library, in another library a discotheque was held, an in another one was a theatre and common singing. But reading of fairy-tales was not forgotten anywhere. They were read by children, librarians and in one library even read by the mayor.

In next year, you will be able to spend the night in the library on Friday, March 30^th 2012. An attractive evening and night programme will be prepared for children: reading of fairy-tales, competitions will be held and lots of fun and adventures. This year an Internet chat will also take part, children can share their experience with their friends throughout the night. We believe that in this mutual electronic night conference, a new celebratory poem will evolve, as well as new friendships.

And this is a chance for you, dear friends from all over the world!

If you enjoy a new experience and if you like our idea, you can have a unique chance to participate! Join us! Help us to celebrate the International Book Day !!!

If you have the open space possibilities and energy to organise something for the children, you can register at our email address detske@knihovnabbb.cz; we will send you more information immediately. Only a little is required for a night outside of your home - a sleeping bag, a little pillow, a mattress, a book.... This night adventure is priceless....In our over-stuffed technological period, the public, as well as experts can ask why the children do not read much. As far as the psychological studies show, the most important aspect is from a personal example: in families where the adults read, children do not have any problems with reading either. And because we know that children from some families do not have the experience of "story-time", we try to offer them another possibility - a night reading to celebrate the International Children´s Book Day. The aim of our night is to increase children´s interest in reading, to show them a beauty of the spoken word and the charm of mutual "story-time" aloud. All in one magical evening in many places around our planet.

The children´s department, Mirka Čápová, Hana Hanáčková,

detske@knihovnabbb.cz www.nocsandersenem.cz

Knihovna B.Beneše Buchlovana, Velehradská 714, 686 01 Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic

Itinerary for the Night with Andersen, or what we should not forget

1. The library or school management agreement is necessary before we announce the Andersen Night. Possibly agreement from other people. Don't forget to inform the local police.
2. Inform the local press, radio and TV channel
3. Do promotion of the event, specify the numer of children, conditions for the common sleeping. It is up to you who you choose for the night. Somewhere winners of the competitions can be chosen or somewhere else the first succesful applicants are admited. Experienced organizers recommend children who are below 12.
4. We advice what to bring for the Night: except pyjamas, a sleeping bag, a cower, hygiene needs and a small cushion. Kids should bring slippers - the Night will be long and they would not feel comfortable in shoes. Medical insurance card is necessary.
5. We take responsibility for the child instead of parents during all the time when the kid is with us. Parents have to sign that they fully agree with having their child away from home. We ask for the phone contact and on the contrary we give them the organizer's phone. We say when exactly the event is going to finish and when parents will come to pick up their kid.
6. Reserve enough time for the Night preparations to prepare the evening programme. Except games, competitions, chat, it is good to have enough literary games, workshops, we have had a good experience with puppet theatre, disko, game competitions, fairy tales beings visit, night couragepath, torchlight procession...
7. Food and drink is individual. Each oganizer has to consider its possibilities. If they are able to bake cakes, sweets, prepare sandwiches, make tea or cocoa... Otherwise kids should bring a small refreshment and something for breakfast from home. We can take advantage of sponsorship as well.
8. Think of and choose the best place for sleeping - this should be carefuly cleaned and hoovered quiet place, so kids can have then sleeping bags there and sleep well at night.
9. Running water in a library or in a school classroom is pretty enough for necessary hygiene, washing hands and brushing teeth. We don't suppose that kids can get too dirty during the night. There is a toalet in each school and library for sure.
10. We wish you a very good, calm, safe night with exciting experiences, the night full of adventure. After all children fall asleep, send us, please, a short message about the things happened in your library or school during a fairy tale night. We appreciate messages about strange experiences, culinary art, sleeping animals, the youngest and the oldest overnight guests, night parades, Andersen's fairytales beings, about themselves, read fairy tales. We are waiting for the numbers of fireworks, mayors, and planted „fairy tale trees"...

We are asking everybody who are preparing this year Night with Andersen to send us brief info about the event, the number of kids, adults taking part in it, planted trees  until 01/04/2012 - dead line is Monday morning after the ending of the night.

The e-mail adress is: detske@knihovnabbb.cz.

REMEMBER

who is not in the common statistics report is consider for being not sleeping here at all!!!

Only the report sent in time can help us to evaluate all things happened during the fairy tale night.