The “ChongChongXiaoDa” Reading Festival Resumes After Three Years

Writer: Li Zhengxuan

Editor: Chen Xinyu

KAJANG, 13 May - The “ChongChongXiaoDa” reading festival was halted for three years due to the epidemic and will now be reconvened from April to September 2023 to celebrate the joy of reading with families across the country.

This festival, which features a range of activities for parents and children, aims to promote literacy and encourage families to read together.

The Federation of Malaysian Chinese School Teachers' Association has been promoting parent-child book clubs for nearly 20 years now, helping parents to build good reading habits for their children by promoting the idea of parents and children learning and growing together, and spreading the concept of reading together.

(Poster of activity. Photo from JIAOZONG, ln.run/GwY9f)

“I think it's really important for families to read together, reading is a great way to bond with your children and it helps to develop their language skills and imagination,” said Luo Xianhui, the reading festival organizer.

The “ChongChongXiaoDa” reading festival offers a variety of activities for families, including book readings, storytelling sessions, and art, as well as book swaps for parents and children to exchange books with other families.

There were also opportunities for children to meet their favorite authors and illustrators, and to engage in interactive learning experiences.

Award-winning author, Xie Zhihui, shares her experience as a children's book author and highlights the role parents play in instilling a love of reading in their children.

“I think it's important for kids to see that reading can be fun, I hope that by sharing my story with them, I can inspire a love of reading that will stay with them for the rest of their lives,” Xie Zhihui said.

A parent from the reading festival, Chen Chusheng, said, “We really enjoy coming to the reading festival, and It's a great way for our families to spend time together and learn new things.”

(Parents take a group picture with their children after the reading festival. Photo by Xie Zhihui)

The “ChongChongXiaoDa” reading festival has brought a lot of fun to the children, children share their reading experience and experience with each other, and at the same time help children grow better in the book.

A eight-year-old participant, Lin Ziyi, said “Her favorite part was the characters in the lifelike storybook, she like to see the drawings in the book as well as the explanation of the usage of colors, and the content in it has given her a lot of inspiration to draw.”