The international exhibitions center Moldexpo will host the 16th International Children’s and Youth Book Fair between April 26 and 29. It will be open from 9am until 6pm, Info-Prim Neo reports. Over 166 publishing houses from 11 countries, namely Moldova, Romania, France, Germany, Sweden, China, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Azerbaijan, and Portugal, will take part in this year’s fair. They will exhibit about 15,000 book titles and launch 89 books. By tradition, the children who will visit the exhibition will receive by a surprise-book. This will be the Book of the Year of the 2011 Fair “Marele Ciulica” (“Big Ciulica”), written by Nicolae Popa. There will be distributed 15,000 copies of this book. The program of the fair will include a number of interactive activities such as reading contests, demonstrations of handmade arts and crafts and applied arts, a videoconference organized by the Chisinau-based National Children’s Library “Ion Creanga” and the State Children’s Library of Russia, with the support of the Russian Center of Science and Culture. A Forum of the Laureates of the National Literary Games Contest “Imaginary Trip to the World of Books” will take place on April 28. The contest is dedicated to the late Alexandrina Rusu, who was editor-in-chief of the magazine for children and teens “a”Mic”. The same day, there will be held a literary meeting themed “Writer from the Blue Hut of Childhood”, dedicated to writer Spiridon Vangheli, who reaches a venerable age this year. A number of books written by Moldovan and Romanian children will be presented within the Literary-Artistic Book Show “La Creanga” on April 29. The International Children’s and Youth Book Fair is held under the auspices of the Head of Parliament Marian Lupu.