SOFIA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's national campaign "The March of the Books" which aims to promote children's interest in reading and books, kicked off here on Monday for the seventh consecutive year.

The three-week campaign that began at the International Children's Book Day and will end on the World Book and Copyright Day, will focus on the early childhood reading from zero to seven years of age.

It includes the national Reading Marathon, Sofia International Literary Festival for Children and Adolescents, as well as events of publishers, bookstores, schools and kindergartens all over the country.

Meanwhile, the teachers' and parents' guide for early childhood reading "Read Together, Grow Together", which will be distributed to schools and kindergartens and be freely available for download on the internet, was presented during the campaign's inauguration ceremony.

"The love of books begins at home," Sofia Mayor Jordanka Fandakova said at the ceremony held in the Sofia City Library, adding "We rely on parents and grandparents to overcome competition of the other types of activities."

Of course, schools and especially kindergartens also contributed to the development of children's love of books, Fandakova said.