World Book Day falls on the 23rd of April each year and this year it served as the focus for Hiba’s very
first book week, a week-long celebration of the books that inspire, interest, excite, educate and engage us all at every
stage of our lives.
WORLD BOOK DAY
Throughout the week, pupils and their parents had access to the Hiba book fair, which was set up in the library and
main lobby area. Stands and shelves were packed with a wide variety of titles of different genres and styles, ensuring
that there would be something to catch the eye of every pupil. Through an easy ordering system set up with Hiba’s
partner in the book fair, Zhong Shu Ge and Blue Fountain, pupils simply needed to make a note of the books they wanted
and their parents could pick up and pay for them at their leisure. For many of our pupils, the book fair was an exciting
as being in a sweet shop.
“I love the Harry Potter series, Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite. I like them because it lets me think of myself in
a world where I am a witch and can cast spells like Hermione Granger. I finished all of the Harry Potter series in
English and I wanted to read them in Chinese, so I bought the Chinese language versions at the book fair. I am looking
forward to seeing if it is very different to read the same stories in a different language.” – Emma, grade 3
“My favourite book is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets because I loved finding out so many big
secrets about the characters. That is one thing I love about books in general, being able to uncover mysteries. I bought
a lot of books at the fair. The one I am most looking forward to reading is The Amazing Gum Girl – it has a really fun
art style!” – Emma, grade 2
“I love the books written by David Walliams, Demon Dentist is my favourite. I bought five of his books at
the book fair, and I am most looking forward to reading is The World’s Worst Children!” – Harry, grade 5
As well as stocking up on plenty of good books to read, pupils were also able to hear from renowned children’s author,
Jian Ping, who spoke to grades 1-3 during their assembly and presented a workshop and book signing event for Hiba’s
older pupils. This was a great opportunity for the pupils to gain insight into the process of writing fiction for an
audience, as well as some important advice about the nature of creative writing.
“Listening to the author Jian Ping was very interesting and fun. He said that if you want to write a good story, you
need to have a lot of imagination so that the reader can clearly ‘see’ the world you are creating. I would like to write
a story about magic one day.”– Beau, grade 1
“Jian Ping told us that he wanted to share the joy of his stories and ideas with other people. I think that is a good
reason to write a book.” – Emma, grade 3
“Jian Ping told us about his childhood, and how he uses those experiences to help him write books that children will
understand and enjoy. His advice was that you need to think about your audience when writing a story.” – Harry,
grade 5
Besides these two main elements of book week, there were lots of other activities and smaller touches that helped bring
the event to life. On Tuesday, World Book Day itself, pupils dressed up as their favourite characters from the books
they love. As you might expect, plenty of characters from the Harry Potter book series cold be seen running around
campus casting spells from their magic wands!
Pupils also enjoyed lots of group reading sessions and themed activities in their classrooms, as their
teachers helped them explore new and fantastic worlds through different books.
Hiba’s first book week was a big hit with the pupils from every year group as they thought about the importance of
reding and what makes certain books and stories so special.
“I like the quietness of reading alone. I love going into my room with a good book and getting lost in another world as
I read it.” – Emma, grade 2
“Reading lets you think up whole new worlds in your head. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is my favourite book
because I love magic and magical creatures. When I read it, I can see very clearly what is happening in the
story.” – Beau, grade 1
“Reading is important because it helps you to think about what you have learned already and what you want to learn in
the future. When I finish a book, I like to just stop and think about it for a while, so I can store it properly in my
memory. I also like to re-read the same book sometimes, because then you can see different things you might not have
noticed during the first reading.”– Harry, grade 5
