KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 – Walt Disney once said, "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.”

Well, it’s time for treasure hunting again. The Children’s Book Week organised by Silverfish Books is back, and will run for nine days from the 9th of August till the 18th.

The 2019 edition of the popular event will be bigger than ever, with plenty of related activities for children and adults.

According to Raman Krishnan, proprietor of Silverfish Book, the Children’s Book Week 2019 is aimed at promoting Malaysian children’s books, their authors and illustrators.

He adds, "Attendance is free for all programmes. On display – and for sale – will be over 100 high-quality Malaysian children’s books, many of which will be new titles published in time for this event.”

One of the authors featured is freelance illustrator and graphic designer Soo Ann Teong who has recently self-published her first book Where is Mister Bear?, which chronicles the curious disappearance of a cheeky bear and his friend, the Little Rabbit, who hops around in hopes of finding his large, purple friend while meeting the other animals across the land.

Cute, furry animals are universally beloved and a good start for a first-time children’s book author. Cynics may argue that there are only that many original stories but isn’t the fun in the telling of the story?

Raman Krishnan, the proprietor of Silverfish Books and organiser of the Children’s Book Week

Little kids aren’t critics; they only know what they enjoy. Perhaps adults ought to read children’s books too, if only to open their eyes and minds once more.

Another featured author has done just that, transcending his repertoire of more mature tales to tackle children’s books. Novelist Tunku Halim has more than 25 books to his name, including his best-selling Horror Stories collection of short stories, but perhaps his most wide-ranging tome is History of Malaysia: A Children’s Encyclopedia.

The richly-illustrated encyclopedia covers a dizzying timeline from the Stone Age until the present day, recording everything from the invasion of the Srivijaya Empire to how Malaya became Malaysia, bringing our local history to life.

Other authors featured during the Children’s Book Week include Heidi Samsuddin, Peter Duke, Adeline Ten, Yusof Gajah, Soo Sian Lim, Lorraine Yoong, Abyan Junus-Nishizawa, Rossiti Aishah Rashidi, Lim Kay Koon and Basari Mat Yasit.

The Children’s Book Week 2019 will culminate in a Children’s Storytelling Competition open to kids aged 5 to 8 years old. Children can have fun being creative and expressing themselves, without the worry that adults may have about public speaking.

Raman believes that all parents need to do is teach their children to respect books, rather than worry about the children’s level of reading nowadays as compared to earlier generations.

He says, "Children are by nature intensely curious and voracious readers if their parents allow them to read what they want, and not behave like the censorship board.”

Many events are planned with a dozen authors of children’s books

Children’s books are a unique category in itself as most children respond more to illustrations and visuals. Recognising this and providing them with ample material are the first steps in efforts to spread the love of reading.

Me, I’m not too sure that the Children’s Book Week is just for kids. Adults enjoy children’s books too, or they used to. Or they can again. We just need a reminder.

Seeing the little ones in rapt attention as someone reads to them, we, too, can be transported back to when we were young. There is an innocent joy far too rare these days. A delight made all the more precious when we tell ourselves we never have the time.

Maybe we don’t. Maybe we do. All it takes to find out is to take a book off from the shelf and turn its pages. We might find ourselves asking "What happens next?” We might find ourselves reading again.

Children’s Book Week 2019

Venue: Silverfish Books, Bangsar Village 2 concourse, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur

Date: Open daily 10am-10pm, August 9-18, 2019

Admission: Free for all programmes

Registration for Children's Storytelling Competition ends 9pm on Sunday, 11 August 2019