Our Book of the Month for November is Children of the World (Art in All of Us / Universe Publishing, 2011), a superbly presented tour of the world through the eyes of children from each of the 192 countries featured. The book’s compilers, photographers Anthony Asael and Stéphanie Rabemiafara, visited schools as a project within their Art in All of Us non-profit organisation, and this resulting book features their own stunning photographs and a breath-taking array of children’s artwork and poetry.

All the poems are shown in their original, often hand-written presentation, with a typed English translation/transcription. They offer insight into the culture and major landmarks etc. of each country, and the children’s love for and pride in their homelands shines through. As I said in my recent review, “The poems especially offer amazing potential for empathy and peace – particularly when comparing the children’s voices with political concerns and conflict around the globe.” You can read the whole review here – I just want to highlight a few quotations from the poetry for this week’s Poetry Friday, turning to pages pretty much at random, because it’s so hard to choose…:

Bagirova Nilufar, aged 10, writing about Azerbaijan:

Our motherland is like a mother to us
Our mother is like motherland to us
Both are venerable
For the love of Azerbaijan

When there are no battles
The people is happy
When there are no battles
everyone is delighted [...]

Pierrre Bréchel Chéry, aged 10, writing about Haiti:

[...] I shall always return to your feet
Even when I go very far away
To come and praise
The sweetness of your plains.

Dear Haiti I love you
Your fresh mountains
Sweetening our nights [...]

Shi Yong, aged 9, about Malaysia:

[...]Food in Malaysia is very delicious,
Some food is nutritious.
Satay, nasi lemak, curry noodles, and curry fishes,
These are the most popular dishes. [...]

Marie Williams, 13, writing about Vanuatu:

Vanuatu, the Untouched Paradise

Vanuatu is one of the countries in the Pacific Islands
The islands are green as a frog
There is no war and starvation
People live peacefully,
you can hear laughter of children
And a friendly smile from people
Everywhere you go.
We claim ourselves to be Ni-Vans with black skin
And have strong and healthy bodies
That’s why we keep our tradition and culture alive.
Vanuatu, we will never give up on you
Like in our motto it says, “In God we stand.”

Children of the World is a joyous tribute to the world’s children and makes inspring reading, both for children and indeed adults.

This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Laura Salas at Writing the World for Kids – head on over…

SCBWI Malaysia has just announced that the following six children’s books have been selected by the National Book Council of Malaysia for their 50 Best Malaysian Titles for International Rights 2011: The Real Elephant by Yusof Gajah; My Mother’s Garden by Emila Yusof; Eco-kids series by Fay Khoo & Asha Gill, illustrated by Sarah Joan Mokhtar; Fatimah’s Kampung by Iain Buchanan; Hayley’s Vegemania Garden and Hayley’s Fruitastic Garden by Mohana Gill, illustrated by Tan Vay Fern.  Congratulations!

The inaugural catalogue by the National Book Council of Malaysia will be distributed at the Beijing Book Fair (Aug 31 – Sept 4) and Frankfurt Book Fair (Oct 12 – 16). Selected books will be displayed at the Malaysian stand.

Head on over to the Spirit of PaperTigers site to see feedback from the Harvest Centre in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, including lots of great photographs.

Last month I was fortunate to attend the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) in Singapore. Each day of the Festival was jam-packed with activities and it was truly an incredible experience to be surrounded by people from all over the globe who shared such a passion for children’s literature. You can read my previous posts about the Festival by clicking here and if you click here on the Gathering Books blog Dr. Myra Garces-Bacsal has compiled a list of  links to blog posts about the AFCC.

One presentation that I haven’t blogged about yet but want to share with you was entitled  “The Asian Children’s Publishing Symposium Parallel: Asian Markets and Experiences”. I almost missed this session as I lost track of time while perusing and purchasing books in the Media Mart but thank goodness I arrived in time to get a seat as this presentation was a highlight for me. The three panelists: Le Phuong Lien, Head of Children’s Literature at the Vietnamese Writer’s Association; Sayoni Basu, Publishing Director at Scholastic India; and Linda Tan Lingard, Managing Partner of Yusof Gagah Lingard Literary Agency Malaysia, each gave an overview of the history and current state of children’s publishing in their respective countries. Each of these ladies is definitely an expert in their field and I certainly learned a lot. Children’s literature published in Vietnam is a subject I have been eager to learn more about but have had difficulty finding information on so it was a great pleasure in particular to listen to Mrs. Le Phuong accompanied by her lovely daughter who acted as a translator.

Mrs. Le Phuong  discussed three pieces of literature for Vietnamese children, from three different time eras, that highlighted the efforts of  “the Vietnamese writer in the expression of Vietnamese culture for children”.  She noted that  “the trend of searching, realizing and praising the original beauty with strong local characteristics is now being emphasized more and more in the writing for children in Vietnam”.  She also shared her thoughts on the impact of global development and harmonization with respect to Vietnamese children’s literature and also why conferences such as the AFCC are important.  You can downloaded Mrs. Le Phuong’s presentation here and view her power point slides here. I encourage you to take some time to read her presentation as I’m sure you will find it as interesting and enlightening as I did.

Malaysian Tales: Retold and Remixed
edited by Daphne Lee
Book launch by Zi Publications
Sun 19 Jun, 2011, 2pm – 5pm
KL Alternative Bookfest, The Annexe Gallery, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Free Admission

This stunning new collection features 16 classic tales as reimagined and retold by some of Malaysia’s brightest raconteurs. Preeta Samarasan, Kee Thuan Chye, Amir Muhammad, and other Malaysian writers spin new tales from old favourites like Si Tanggang, Singapura Dilanggar Todak, Raja Bersiong, Batu Berbelah, Batu Bertangkup, and the legends of Hang Li Poh, Admiral Cheng Ho, Puteri Gunung Ledang and Mahsuri.

The collection was edited by Daphne Lee who, after corresponding with for several years, I was thrilled to finally meet in person at the 2011 Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore. Daphne is a writer (she has published six picture books, as well as short stories in magazines and anthologies) and publishing editor of OneRedFlower Press, which specialises in Malaysian picture books. She also writes a weekly column about children’s and young adult books for Malaysian Daily and The Star (click here to read her article on my AFCC presentation), and runs reading initiatives for a Malaysian non-profit organisation. On her blog The Places You Will Go she shared her thoughts on how Malaysian Tales: Retold and Remixed came about:

When I first thought of collecting stories for this anthology, I imagined it would be for children. I didn’t grow up with Malaysian fairytales, myths and legends. Like many Malaysian children from English-speaking families, I was raised on the stories of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. I was baptised in the Catholic church and so Christian mythology was part of my life.

As an adult I felt something was missing. Why did I know European fairytales, myths and legends and not the fairytales, myths and legends of the country in which I lived and belonged? The obvious reason was because my parents never told me any of the latter. My mother would occasionally relate bizarre stories, of Chinese origin, about a filial son who went to incredible lengths to prove his love for his aged mother, but for most part she (and my sisters) read me stories which included fairytale staples like Snow White, Cinderella, The Goose Girl, The Bremen Town Musicians (my favourite) and Rumplestiltskin.

We had a few lovely hardbound copies of fairytales by Andersen and the Grimms. We did not own any collections of Malaysian traditional tales. This was why I thought of compiling one. (more…)

Silverfish Books (58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar, Malaysia) is having a Picture Book Week with Malaysian Illustrators from May 2 – 7  2011. New titles will be on display, illustrators will be in attendance and special guests (including Daphne Lee of One Red Flower Press) will be giving talks on how and why picture books are made. On May 7 esteemed illustrator Yusof Gajah will be hosting an Art & Creativity Workshop with children ages 12 and under. You must preregister your children for this event and can do so by contacting Silverfish Books before April 30th. Many of the illustrators taking part are members of SCBWI Malaysia so be sure to check SCBWI Malaysia’s Facebook page for photos and updates from the event!

Words+Pictures=Book, an exhibition of  30 original illustrations by 10 distinguished Malaysian illustrators, is currently ongoing until 3rd October at Galeri Petrononas in Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia.  Daphne Lee, respected Malaysian children’s book author and publishing editor of OneRedFlower Press, reviewed the exhibit in her weekly StarMag column. Here’s a part of what she says about it:

The exhibition was Badolhisham Mohamad Tahir’s, head of exhibitions at Galeri Petronas, idea.  It was his past experience as an illustrator for The Institute of Language and Literature that led him to consider the possibility of a picture book exhibition. “I felt it was time for picture books to be highlighted as a valid art form and I wanted especially to show contemporary Malaysian illustration,” said Badrolhisham.

His initial idea was to showcase award-winning Malaysian illustrators. A little known fact is that six Malaysian picture book illustrators have won prizes at the Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations. Three of these receipients:Yusof  Gajah, Jainal Amimbing and Awang Fadillah, are  part of the exhibition.

What makes this exhibition particularly noteworthy, however, is that it doesn’t showcase art from existing picture books: instead, the participating illustrators were given just five days to create a picture book from scratch. Words+Pictures=Book has been quite a success, attracting up to 300 visitors a day. Although Daphne has some reservations about the way the illustrations are displayed, she concludes that:

While I feel Words+Pictures=Book fails to convey the complexities of picture book art creation, it at least serves to bring the art form to the attention of the Malaysian public and also to highlight the important role of visual art in children’s literature.

…And that can only be a good thing. If you go to the exhibition, do let us know your highlights.

Children’s author and blogger Daphne Lee recently posted about the new SCBWI chapter in Malaysia on her blog The Places You Will Go. Included in the post is information (and photos!) from SCBWI Malaysia’s recent Children’s Literature conference which featured an exhibition of illustrations from Malaysian picture books; a talk by artist, illustrator and writer Yusof Gajah on becoming a children’s book writer and illustrator; and two panel discussions (the importance of creating Malaysian children’s literature for Malaysian children and the use of illustrations in Malaysian children’s literature).

The president of the newly formed SCBWI Malaysian chapter, Linda Tan Lingard, is an avid reader and collector of children’s books and, like many Malaysians, has  a passion for children’s literature. Lingard felt that there is a dearth of quality Malaysian children’s lit so she ventured into the publishing world to try and address her concerns. To date, her company, Oyez!Books, has published over a dozen titles by Malaysian and expat writers and illustrators.

Linda invites all those involved (directly and indirectly) in the production, promotion and distribution of Malaysian children’s literature to join the SCBWI Malaysia chapter. You can email her at  lindalingard(at)yusofgajahlingard(dot)com.