DAVAO CITY — Nursery and Kindergarten children joined on Tuesday the National Children’s Book Reading Day spearheaded by SM in Davao City.
SM assistant mall manager Nick D. Santos said the Reading Day was held simultaneously in all SM malls as it advocates the importance of Children’s Book Reading across the Asia-Pacific Region, across 43 malls in the Philippines and four malls in China namely: SM Xiamen, SM Jinjiang, SM Chengdu and SM Suzhou Wuzhong.
‘We held the National Children’s Book Reading Day every 3rd Tuesday of July, as we commemorate our National hero and the publishing of Dr. Jose Rizal’s ‘Ang Pagong at Ang Matsing.’ Because we believe, that readers make good leaders,” he said.
Santos said as the malls have virtually become information gateways, they hope to cultivate and nurture in children, a love for reading and highlight books as a tool that would instill proper values, encourage children to explore, widen their horizons and learn about other cultures in a fun yet safe environment.
‘We cannot stress enough the importance of reading in our lives, especially among kids who acquire and retain information from the many “influences” outside the four corners of the classroom,’ he said.
Nora Fe Alajar, head of the Davao City Library, said Davao City undertakes regular reading activity under Proclamation No. 8 known as ‘Masayang Magbasa Sa Sariling Wika’ Project.
The project she said extends literacy program to far flung communities through story telling in the barangays.
Despite the influx of technology, there is still nothing that makes our imagination go wild by reading books, she said.
A book is like a movie so we can watch over and over again and each time you re-read, you will discover something new. Books are not just the inspiration for countless movies, they also sharpen the mind and enrich ourselves.
She urged parents to read to their children and cultivate in them the thirst for knowledge so that they may become intelligent Filipinos who will lead the future of our city and the nation. (PNA)