International Children's Book Day has been celebrated in Baku.

Initiated by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the day has been celebrated in many countries since 1967 on the birthday of the great storyteller Hans Christian Andersen on April 2.

The first Children's Book Festival was held in the country as part of the celebration. The festival was organized by the  Azerbaijan Publishing Houses Association to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books.

The two-days festival brought together not only readers of different ages, but also all those involved in book art, including writers, publishers, artists, editors, book distributors, librarians, teachers, critics, translators and journalists.

The festival with the participation of various publishing houses, book houses, as well as private individuals aroused great interest among young readers.  Fairy tale hours, meetings with authors of children's books, and various projects were presented as part of the festival.