Nur-Sultan hosts book festival “Bala Time”

Book exhibitions, poetry battles, meetings of children’s writers and presentations of youth publications. The National Academic Library of Kazakhstan hosted a children’s book festival “Bala Time” dedicated to two events – International Children’s Day and the Year of Support for Children and Youth Reading in the country. According to the organizers, such creative events will help nurture the desire and love of the modern younger generation to learn new things.

“Today we are celebrating the future, because this year was declared the Year of Children and Youth Reading. Therefore, everything is done today to once again draw public attention to children’s current problems. We are more concerned with reading, that’s why the library, like no one else probably, must pay attention to what books children read or don’t read, what kind of literacy they have. Therefore, today we draw the attention of children to the readership, preparing our future readers,” said Umitkhan Munalbayeva, Director of the National Academic Library of Kazakhstan.

The love of literary works in a 12-year-old Raziya originated in her earliest childhood as soon as she learned to fully immerse in the exciting world of books at the age of five. Since then, the girl has dreamt of sharing her characters with the audience. Today her aspirations have come true – the schoolgirl presents her own book of fairy tales.

“In my opinion, my book is unique and differs completely from others. Firstly, because it is decorated with my drawings. I really like to draw. It is very important to read books, they improve vision, logic. I really enjoy writing them. I have been waiting for this day for a very long time. I am happy,” shared the author Raziya Akpar.

The organizers of the book festival invited famous writers, authors of popular children’s stories and fairy tales, so that they share their experience with the beginners, while they, in turn, get motivated to succeed.

Translation by Saniya Sakenova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova