Diving into the Wonderland of Books

Every year since March 2012, the annual Book Week at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad has been an occasion that students and teachers at the Junior School eagerly look forward to. This year too, the entire community took part in the events throughout the week focusing on children’s literature and the importance of reading.

The event was launched on Monday with a treasure hunt in the library, which also served the purpose of students getting to know the books in the library a little more intimately. Every morning the assembly focus was on different aspects of books and reading; sharing favourite authors and illustrators; digital versus print books; investigating different genres of books.

There were a myriad of activities that included buddy reading, book making, and storytelling. One of the highlights of the week was the storytelling sessions by parents in different languages. Several parents volunteered to come in to tell stories in Hindi, Telugu, Kutchi, Gujarati, Urdu and Marwari.

Students in grades 4 and 5 had an inspirational Skype session with author Jorge Aguiree, and from the feedback we received, the enjoyment was mutual.

The finale of the week-long celebration was the much-awaited ‘Book Character Parade’ held in the amphitheatre. Every class had a different theme: grade 1- fairy tales, grade 2 - Julia Donaldson, grade 3 – Dr. Seuss, grade 4 - Roald Dahl and grade 5 - mythology. It was a truly spectacular parade with all the adults dressed up as well! A few parents joined the parade as well, making this year a bit more inclusive and special.

The Book Week culminated in storytelling sessions by the author of The Royal Mistake, Deepa Kiran. She is also the founder of Story Arts India and believes in the power of storytelling to enrich language experience in children. The students were captivated by her animated rendition, and the reader in all of us felt enriched and rejuvenated when the week ended on Friday.