The Croatian Book Month at the Kaštela City Library continues to bring a host of interesting, educational and creative events for all ages. This week, book lovers, young and old, reconnected through various workshops, meetings and literary programs, showing that the library is a place where imagination, knowledge and togetherness always find their refuge.
Little ones discover the magic of books
Cheerful children from the Višnjica Kindergarten visited the Children's Department of the Croatian Book Library in Kaštel Stari to celebrate the Month of the Croatian Book. In the warm and pleasant atmosphere of the library, the librarian led them into a conversation about autumn and its charms, and then they read the story "Jesenko" by Bruno Kuman and Ivana Guljašević together. Inspired by the story, the little readers happily illustrated their impressions, thus combining the book and art into one cheerful autumn story.
In Kaštel Sućurac, the little ones from DV Maginja enjoyed the humorous "Pepper Story" by Melita Rundek, learning about the unusual world of the mischievous peppercorn. After reading, everyone drew their own pepper character, and the children proudly became new members of the library.
The children from the Murtilica Children's Home in Rudin were not indifferent to the book either – their visit to the Children's Department in Kaštel Stari brought a lot of laughter and creativity with the picture book "The Quarrelsome Squirrels" by Rachel Bright and Jim Field. The children then made their own bookmarks, which the librarians laminated as a memento of the gathering.
First graders and students in the world of stories
The youngest students of the Kneza Trpimir Elementary School in Kaštel Gomilica listened with great interest to the story "How the Bunny Fell in Love with the Library" and learned how a library can be a place of learning, research and play. In Kaštel Sućurac, the first-year students of the Kneza Mislav Elementary School discovered the meaning of caring for books and reader friendship through the picture book "Faith Among the Books". After reading, they made colorful bookmarks and chose the books they would take home.
A special experience was had by the students of the 2nd and 2nd grade of the elementary school of Prof. Filip Lukas, who participated in the workshop "Forgotten children's games of Kastelan". With the help of the librarian and teachers, they discovered how their grandparents used to play - with a scarf in the game Ćorava baba, with a rubber band in jumping and with the cheerful counting "Fli – fla – flu". Games such as Cara, care, gospodare and Crna kraljice, jen, dva, tri... awakened happy memories and showed that socializing and movement never go out of fashion.
Art, poetry and competitions
A comic book workshop with the famous illustrator and caricaturist Nikola Listeš was held in Kaštel Kambelovac. The children learned about the basics of drawing and perspective and created their first comic book characters, with a lot of effort and smiles.
The literary program in Kaštel Novi brought an evening of poetry with the poet Irena Grubišić-Čabo, whose verses were read by Saša Tadinac. Through conversation and poetry, the audience was immersed in the world of emotions, mountains and words that "play softly in the evening".
In cooperation with the library, the schools also held a Reading Aloud Competition – an important program that promotes expressive reading and a love of books. In the younger category, the most successful was Mihaela Živković (4th grade), while in the older category, the winner was Roko Banovac (6th grade). Both of them qualified for the county-level competition in Kaštel Sućurac.
Adult readers' meetings
The love of books knows no age, as demonstrated by the members of the "Mašolibar" reading club who discussed the novel "Leaves of Cabbage" by Igor Beleš in Kaštel Sućurac. Touched by the children's perspective on war and the beauty of storytelling, the members concluded that children retain hope and humanity even in the most difficult times. For their next gathering, they chose the novel "And Then the Sea" by American author Laura Spence-Ash.
Chinese magic in the library
One of the most fun workshops of the week was “Unlock China,” which took children on an artistic journey through Chinese culture. The little participants learned their first Chinese words, discovered the symbolism of the dragon, and made colorful paper dragons. The library briefly became a real little kingdom of color, laughter, and imagination.
This year, the Croatian Book Month at the Kaštela City Library is being held under the slogan "Chosen by Librarians", and the rich program confirms that it is librarians who, every day, choose ways to bring books closer to people with lots of love.
Whether it's children just learning to read, students discovering the world of books, or adults finding peace in them - the library has once again shown that it is a place of meeting, learning, and the joy of life.
Photo: GKK
