The Origin of International Book Giving Day
Did you know that most children in developing countries do not own books and that in the United States, two-thirds of children living in poverty do not own books.
So a few years ago, International Book Giving Day was born to encourage people worldwide to give a book to a child on February 14th.
But I also think we should work on getting books into the hands of people of all ages.
And what better book to share than A Land Remembered? While I’m on my Patrick Smith’s Florida is A Land Remembered tour, I hear over and over again how many people love to give this book to family and friends. Realtors have told me they would give the book to new Floridians who bought a house through them. Other people like to keep a copy of the book in their guest room. One woman bought all of the people in her son’s wedding party a copy as a gift. I love that!
When we stay at hotels that have a library, I like to slip a copy of A Land Remembered on the shelves. I’ve even donated a book on the last cruise I took out of Port Canaveral.
6 Ways You Can Get Involved in International Book Giving Day!
You can get involved in a variety of ways:
1) Gift a book (of course I recommend A Land Remembered or another of Patrick Smith’s books) to a friend or family member (you can even gift Kindle and audio books as well)
2) Leave a book somewhere, in a waiting room, tiny lending library, a restaurant or coffee shop, hair salon, etc. for a person to discover and read. (Click here for more inspiration)
If you’re gifting one of Patrick Smith’s books, download and print our International Book Giving Day bookplate to attach to a book you give. They’re free!
3) Donate a book to a local library, hospital or shelter or to an organization that distributes used books to children in need internationally.
4) Connect with others celebrating International Book Giving Day via Facebook, Twitter
5) Share a photo of yourself celebrating International Book Giving Day, use #bookgivingday on social media.
6) Consider donating to organizations distributing books such as, Room to Read (international), Books for Africa (international), Book Aid International (international), The Book Bus (international), First Book (U.S.), Reading is Fundamental (U.S.), Reach Out and Read (U.S.), and Pratham Books (India).
Final Thoughts
International Book Giving Day has continued to grow and grow. It’s been celebrated not only in the U.S. but also in Australia, Canada, South Africa, France, India, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Germany, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Brazil, Egypt, Poland, Greece, Portugal, Mexico, Macedonia, Malawi, Hungary, Malaysia, Israel, Denmark, Thailand, Indonesia, Jordan, China, Puerto Rico and Bulgaria.
I think this is a nice way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, don’t you? Spreading the love of books.
