Young book worms to attend first open-air show

Bookfest Junior was started by members of the Association of Editors in Romania (AER). It aims for a return to real values and real role models. “Our message to parents is: ‘Bring the little ones to Bookfest Junior and buy them a book! Introduce them to the real heroes!',” says Cristian Juncu, executive Director of AER. “We all grew up with stories and identified ourselves with their heroes: Prince Charmings with supernatural powers or clever people with empty pockets – they stirred our imagination with their adventures. Meanwhile, we have become parents and we are disappointed to see how values have changed. Assaulted on all media channels with false idols, we have no way of stopping our children's access to these surrogates. We have not even noticed how they came to be role models for today's children. If we don't like this, it'd be better to buy a book for the little ones and bring the real heroes back to life.”
Otilia Haraga