The Little Big Read is a campaign of Bulgarian National Television in which the viewers choose their favorite book for children from Bulgarian and world literature.
The Little Big Read is Sevda Shishmanova’s original idea, a development of the BBC campaign the Big Read. The proposal for the production of the new show was presented in the concept for the management of BNT’s program policy in 2010. It was consequently realized with the consent of the British public service. The idea to pick the favorite novel of Bulgarians was complemented by the idea to pick their favorite children’s book. Thus a fairytale world was created, the world of the Little Big Read. If you’re grown up, you can feel like a child again, or if you’re a child, you can suddenly grow up. A professional crew created the concept for the adaptation, the idea being that viewers and readers can go back to their childhood and remember their favorite fairytale characters.
The Little Big Read began on February 27, 2011. For the first time the BBC licensed a television, in this case BNT, to adapt the Big Read campaign to target children’s literature. The Little Big Read is a continuation of the Big Read, which BNT presented in 2008 and 2009. The idea of the project is to provoke young people to read and talk about their favorite children’s books. For four months the show attracted not just young viewers but also their parents, grandmothers and grandfathers. With this project Bulgaria’s public service educated, cultured and entertained young people through messages that stimulate knowledge and the imagination.
The Little Big Read is a complex and long-term project in development, captivating wide circles of society. The format is based on the equal right participation of big and small. It leaves the framework of the television studio with several active initiatives for kids and their families – children’s art competitions, filming competitions, amusement events in the open with quizzes and awards, children meeting writers in bookshops and libraries.
The 10 finalists for favorite children’s book were chosen by voting from the proposed titles in the top 100. The voting was conducted on the interactive web page malkotochetene.bnt.bg, letters and postcards. We wanted to find an answer to the question: What is the best children’s book? A question the team working on the show, children and their parents asked themselves until the very end – the final on June 23, 2011, when the favorite book of Bulgarian children was announced – Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking.
