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Bring Me a Book Hong Kong (BMABHK), the leading advocate for family literacy and the  Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) are pleased to announce their partnership for the 2021 Young Readers  Festival (YRF) Chinese Programme.

Bridging cultural barriers

The comprehensive line-up of events, available to schools online, from 19-30 April 2021, will, for the first time, be available in both Chinese and English. The partnership between two of Hong Kong’s leading literacy charities bridges cultural barriers and allows students in Hong Kong to access some of the world’s greatest storytellers.

“We are delighted to launch a new partnership with Bring Me a Book Hong Kong, which  will make the programme more accessible to local students by including more Chinese language authors and events,”  Catherine Platt, Executive Director, the Hong Kong International Literary Festival.

Highlights include Chinese author Dai Yun, whose Covid-19 inspired fairytale, “Do Not Scroll Around During Chinese New  Year”, brought comfort and strength to little readers and their  families. Nanjing native, Yu Li-Qiong, author of ”A New Year’s Reunion”, is recognized globally for her heart-warming tale of a little girl, Mao Mao, and her relationship with her father, a migrant worker whom she sees once a year, during Chinese New Year.

“We are excited to bridge cultural barriers with our  Chinese author programme to bring joy and inspiration to more students, on their reading and writing journeys” said Pia Wong, Executive Director, Bring Me A Book Hong Kong.

Celebrating local authors

The YRF and BMABHK are also delighted to introduce students to Hong Kong’s award-winning author and illustrator Shana Cheung. Her new book, “Bub Bub Bub Bub! My Granny” explore themes of perseverance and motivation and has been  shortlisted for the 55th Bologna Children’s Book Fair’s Illustrations Exhibition in March 2021. Another new and rising local talent in the world of children’s literature is Rachel Ip. Her thoughtful story of war, peace, and hope, “The Last Garden” captured the hearts of many Hong Kong families when the book was launched.

Igniting a love of reading

Since 2016, Bring Me a Book has brought 30 authors and illustrators to schools and public libraries in Hong Kong from  the UK, US, China and Taiwan. Sponsored by Bank of America, BMABHK’s “Meet-the-Author” Program has enabled the  innovative charity to deliver author talks to more than 100 local schools and community centers, inspiring over 30,000 children.

“By bringing their stories to life, author visits often motivate previously reluctant readers to pick up a book while also  inspiring educators to think about the subject matter more creatively. Feedback from our surveys show that 81% of students  found our author visits “interesting” and “enjoyable”, while 70% say it helps motivate them to read more books with 75%  asking if they could attend more events like this in the future”, added Pia Wong.

ABOUT BRING ME A BOOK HONG KONG:

Bring Me a Book Hong Kong (BMABHK) is an award-winning non-profit literacy organization in Hong Kong with a mission to  promote reading, provide access to books, and strengthen family and community bonds. We conduct evidence-based research to provide trainings for parents and educators, hand-selected Chinese and English children’s books, and programs to access authors and literacy experts.

Since inception in 2006, BMABHK has installed over 450 libraries, served 180,000 children from low-income communities through  our library programs. Our First Teachers Training, for parents and educators, is an award-winning program that has proven to  significantly increase ability and confidence in selecting and reading aloud books amongst families.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR OTHER BMABHK READING PROGRAMS:

• For schools: Join BMABHK’s School Program that include author visits, toolkits for schools to celebrate World Book Day and parent workshops, professional development talks and storytelling for students
• For families: Join our BMABHK Membership. For an annual fee of HK$1100, gain exclusive access to membership benefits, including the ability to borrow from our extensive BMABHK library.
• For students aged 9 and up: Join our NEW Junior Staff Readers Program. Be a part of an engaged volunteer student group who helps us to continue making our book selections robust.

ABOUT YRF

The Hong Kong Young Readers Festival is a vibrant arm of the world-class Hong Kong International Literary Festival that brings together a diverse and dynamic group of local and international writers, illustrators, comic creators, and poets dedicated to the art of telling inspirational stories to kids and young adults.

Since the YRF’s inception nine years ago, we have worked with over 30,000 primary and secondary school students in Hong  Kong. Sustained reading not only offers children the opportunity to improve their English language skills and vocabulary, it provides a crucial gateway to cultural exchange and exposes young people to diverse topics and current affairs.

We are a not-for-profit, charitable organization dedicated to bringing the best in the literary arts to Hong Kong. For more information, please visit the LitFest website at www.festival.org.hk

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領導及提倡親子共讀的書伴我行（香港）基金會（書伴我行）將會與香 港國際文學節攜手合辦青少年讀者節 2021（青少年讀者節）的「與中文作家會面」活動。

消除文化障礙

由 2021 年 4 月 19 日至 30 日起，學校可參與一系列的網上「與作家會面」活動，更是首次以 雙語（中文及英文）來舉辦。是次活動由領導香港閱讀文化推廣的兩個非牟利機構共同合作，為本 地學校學生和國際學校學生消除文化障礙，並讓他們有機會接觸到世界一流的作家。

香港國際文學節總監 Catherine Platt 說：「我們很高興能與書伴我行合作，迎來更多中文作家及其相關活動，讓本地學校學生更容易參與。」

知名作家包括來自中國的戴芸 ─ 以新冠病毒作為創作靈感，寫下為很多小讀者及其家人帶來了安慰及力量圖畫書《這個春 節不溜達》。 另外，還有來自南京的余麗瓊 ─《團圓》 的作家。 此著名的故事是講述一位小女孩毛毛和她每年只能夠在春節期間見一面的民工父親，二人之間的溫馨故事。

書伴我行（香港）基金會執行總監黃秋山女士說：「 書伴我行很高興能夠與青少年讀者節合作，很期待我們的「與中文作家會面」活動能夠打破文化障礙， 為同學們帶來更多閱讀樂趣。」

齊來與本地作家會面

本地作家方面，青少年讀者節及書伴我行誠意介紹香港得獎作家及插畫家張韻珊。她的新書《啵啵 啵啵！我是魔法王》以探討毅力和積極性為主題。另一位介紹的是在兒童文學界中嶄露頭角的新晉本地作家 Rachel Yip。她的作品《The Last Garden》是一個關於戰爭、和平及希望的動人故事。

激發對閱讀的喜愛

自 2016 年起，書伴我行已為本地學校及公共圖書館帶來了超過 30 位來自英國、美國、中國及台灣 的作家及插畫家。由美國銀行贊助，書伴我行已經成功為超過 100 所本地學校及社區中心舉辦多場「與作家會面」活動， 超過三萬名兒童參與。研究表明，與作家、插畫家、文學專家及故事人見面， 並聽聽他們對作品的熱愛，能夠從根本上改變孩子與書籍的關係，及激發孩子終生喜愛閱讀。

黃秋山女士補充說：「我們的調查顯示，81% 的學生認為我們的「與作家會面」活動「有趣」及「令人愉快的」； 70%的學生表示此活動有助激 發他們閱讀更多的書籍；75%的學生希望將來可以參加更多類似的活動。

關於書伴我行(香港)基金會︰

書伴我行是一間獲獎的非牟利機構，致力向小朋友推廣閱讀，提供容易接觸優質書籍的途徑，增強 家庭和社區關係，以及鼓勵小朋友更熱愛學習。我們以實證研究為基礎，提供改革性的家長及老師培訓，優質中、英文兒童書籍，與作家及專家接觸的高質素活動。

自 2006 年成立以來，我們已經設置超過 450 個圖書館，服務了180,000 位來自低收入家庭的小朋友。我們的得獎「兒童啟蒙老師訓練」，專為家長和老師而設，已經獲證實有效增加參加者挑選書 籍和進行親子共讀的能力和信心。

了解本會其他計劃︰

• 學校和家庭：成為書伴我行會員 。只需年費$1100，就可得到會員獨享福利，包括可以在本 會圖書館借閱圖書。
• 學校︰參加本會的學校項目，攜手與書伴我行邀請作家到訪、獲取慶祝世界閱讀日的訊息包、 舉辦家長工作坊、專業培訓講座和學生故事活動。
• 9 歲或以上學生：參加本會全新的「小小讀書人」計劃。成為學生義工的一份子，幫我們確保書目符合小朋友的需要和興趣。

關於香港國際青少年讀者節:

香港國際青少年讀者節是一個為期 12 天的活動，是香港國際文學節的重點活動。活動邀請一眾有活力的本地和國際作家、插畫家、漫畫家和詩人參與，他們致力推動藝術，為兒童及青年帶來鼓舞人心的故事。

香港國際青少年讀者節已舉辦了九年，我們與超過三千間香港中小學合作。持續閱讀有利兒童提升英語水平和掌握更多詞彙，帶動文化交流，讓青少年認識不 同的議題，包括現正發生的社會事件。

我們是一所牟利的慈善機構，致力在香港推動文學藝術。請瀏覽 www.festival.org.hk，以獲取更多資訊。