Children learn to read long before they learn the alphabet, and toddler's books are likely to be the first printed media to make them penetrate the world of books. As such, toddlers books play a frontline role in the children's intellectual development and in building their future as readers.
At the core of Children Plus, the exhibition Toddlers First Books[JD1] will showcase 140 board books and activity books targeting babies and toddlers aged 0–3. Toddlers First Books is an outstanding display of novelty and diversity, which features books mostly published in the very last few years in 21 different countries and territories.
Established by a team of curators lead by children’s book expert and former librarian Grazia Gotti (Italy), this rigorous selection includes the best titles presented in the Bologna Children’s Book Fair’s Ragazzi Awards, one of the most important prizes in children’s publishing characterised by its taste for innovation.
The Children Plus—Toddlers First Books exhibition pays a special tribute to one of the most iconic Italian board book authors, 97-year old illustrator Attilio Cassinelli. Featured as this year’s Children Plus’s visual identity, Attilio’s "Little Red Riding Hood" and “The Ugly Duck” will keep you company throughout your visit of the exhibition.
This exhibition is hosted by the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair and curated by Giannino Stoppani Cooperativa Sociale, with the support of the Bologna Children’s Books Fair. A live painting event for children directed by Gudong—a Shanghai-based illustrator and finalist in the 2017 Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition—will allow everyone to play creatively with Little Riding Hood.
