The Sharjah International Book Fair takes place annually in November while the 4th Sharjah Reading Children’s Festival will take place April 23 – May 2, 2012. Some details on the 4th Sharjah Reading Children’s Festival (SCRF):

More than 200 Arab and foreign publishing houses will take part in the event. 30 invited guests including authors, intellectuals, artists and researchers in the field of children’s literature, will participate in the parallel seminars, workshops and exhibitions.

SCRF will also include a series of art and heritage workshops, as well as theatrical plays, reading sessions, popular games, circus performances, clown shows and many other activities performed by guests from the GCC region, Arab world and Europe. For the first time this year SCRF is organizing awards for Children’s books as well as an illustrators exhibition.

Illustrators 2012

The Sharjah Children Books’ Illustrators Exhibition will display professional drawings of children’s books and stories of Emirati, Arab and International artists. The Exhibition will award the top 3 artworks from the exhibited works valuable prizes.

Sharjah Children Books Awards

Being concerned with encouraging writers and different creators to produce high level artworks in the field of children literature, Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival decided to launch “Sharjah Children Books Awards” which is meant to develop the children’s literary and cultural abilities, create their literary awareness and enrich the library with children’s literary works. The award targets 4 categories in the field of publishing, writing and illustrating.

Sharjah Children Book Award  (Visual Impairments) (Braille)

This award is aimed at people with special needs; precisely people with visual impairments.

For more details visit their website or social media pages. Now here are some pics from the Sharjah International Book Fair booth at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

It’s after midnight so here are some pictures from morning and evening Day 1 – I’ll add the captions anon – in the meantime, do you know who’s who?

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ Booth at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is quite the happening place. Here are some photos of authors and illustrators we have met over the past 2 days!

PaperTigers’ Corinne Robson with Ken Quek, SCBWI Singapore and Festival Manager of the 2012 Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) to be held this coming May in Singapore.

PaperTigers’ Majorie Coughlan with author Dave Seow,  Singapore

The SCBWI Australian contingent: Serena Geddes, Lesley Vamos,  Deb Abela, and Chris Cheng.

Chris Cheng and his book Sounds Spooky.

SCBWI New Zealand display, SCBWI Australia display

ALMA PRESS RELEASE:

Guus Kuijer is an author, born in 1942, who lives and works in the Netherlands.

The jury’s citation reads as follows:

With an unprejudiced gaze and a sharp intellect, Guus Kuijer portrays both the problems facing contemporary society and life’s big questions. Respect for children is as self-evident in his works as his rejection of intolerance and oppression. Kuijer combines serious subject matter and razor-sharp realism with warmth, subtle humour and visionary flights of fancy. His simple, clear and precise style accommodates both deep philosophical insight and graceful poetic expression.

With an unprejudiced gaze and a sharp intellect, Guus Kuijer portrays both the problems facing contemporary society and life’s big questions. Respect for children is as self-evident in his works as his rejection of intolerance and oppression. Kuijer combines serious subject matter and razor-sharp realism with warmth, subtle humour and visionary flights of fancy. His simple, clear and precise style accommodates both deep philosophical insight and graceful poetic expression.

Guus Kuijer made his debut as a children’s author in 1975 and has published over 30 titles, mostly aimed at readers on the cusp of their teenage years. Key works include Het boek van alle dingen (2004, The Book of Everything), Florian Knol (2006) and the series of five books about the girl Polleke, starting with Voor altijd samen, amen (1999, Together Forever, Amen).

The uncompromising perspective of the child is always present in Kuijer’s works, but at the same time, through his young protagonists, he paints a perceptive picture of the adult world. His commitment extends to social and religious issues alike, and the consistent message of his books is one of tolerance, understanding and broad-mindedness.

Guus Kuijer has won a number of literary prizes, including the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis (German Children’s Literature Award) on two occasions. He is a four-time recipient of the Netherlands’ biggest children’s literature prize, the Gouden Griffel (Golden Pencil), and has also received the Staatsprijs voor kinder- en jeugdliteratuur (Dutch National Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature).

His works have been translated into more than 10 languages, including English, Swedish, German, Italian and Japanese.

Watch the announcement here. Follow as the jury presents the recipient.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the world’s largest prize for children’s and young adult literature. PaperTigers is proud to be a nominating body for the award.

Announced today at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair:

2012 Hans Christian Andersen Award Winners:

Maria Teresa Andruetto (Argentina) – Author

Peter Sis (Czech Republic) – Illustrator

IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award Winners:

Abuelas Cuentacuentos – The Grandmother Storytelling Programme (Argentina)

and

SIPAR (Cambodia)

Our  bags are packed and in a few hours both Marjorie and I will be flying to Italy to attend the  2012 Bologna Children’s Book Fair!  As we all know, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the most important international event dedicated to children’s publishing. 2012 marks the 49^th edition of the fair and will take place March 19th – 22nd.  Over 20,000 square meters of exhibition space have been booked,  over 1,200 exhibitors from over 66 countries are confirmed, and  a jam-packed programme of events has been released. A small sampling of the highlights:

The 2012 Guest of Honor at the Illustrators Exhibition will be Portugal. Portugal will present an exhibit entitled Como as cerejas (Like cherries), a selection of works by well established illustrators for children’s books as well as works by young artists presenting the finest in contemporary Portuguese illustration.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award announcement will be broadcast live to Bologna from Sweden on March 20th. This is the 10th anniversary of  ALMA and is especially exciting for us as  PaperTigers is a nominating body for the award.

Bologna Children’s Book Fair – SM Foundation International Award for Illustration. This winner of this  award, reserved to young illustrators (under 35) selected for the 2012 Illustrators Exhibition, will be announced on March 21.

Illustrators Exhibition. Once again, a wealth of works by illustrators (well-known professionals and emerging talents) will  be on display. The 2012 international jury has selected 72 illustrators from 2,685 participants and 360 illustrations will be exhibited.

BolognaRagazzi Awards. This initative rewards the best books in terms of graphic and editorial design and this year, along with the traditional Fiction, Non-Fiction and New Horizons categories, there is a section called Opera Prima, devoted to the works of new authors and illustrators with the aim of acknowledging the publishers’ efforts in seeking new talent. From 2012 onwards the BolognaRagazzi award will feature 1 new category in the emerging field of digital publishing: a look to the future in discovery of the best of apps developed for the young readers’ market.

Translators Centre. Launched in 2004 by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the Translators’ Centre acts as a hub for information, exchange and encounter among professional translators and those wishing to specialize in literature for children.

TOC BOLOGNA Tools of Change for Publishing. After the great success of the first edition in 2011 (with 250 participants from 25 countries and presentations by top international experts), TOC Tools of Change for Publishing, the conference on digital publishing, will return on March 18th. Publishers from all over the world will discuss new business strategies, new apps, and new marketing channels.

If you are going to be in Bologna, be sure to let us know as we would love to meet up with you. If you can’t be there, keep an eye here on our PaperTigers’ blog as we will be posting regularly to share some of our highlights with you!

I had an amazing day yesterday at the opening of the latest exhibition at Seven Stories in Newcastle, UK: A Squash and a Squeeze: Sharing Stories with Julia Donaldson.

The exhibition is a glorious extravaganza where fans of Julia‘s books will be able to revel in the worlds of all their favorite characters. Each section takes you into one of her books and as always at Seven Stories, there’s something for everyone – plenty of interactive activities to absorb the youngest visitor while older children and the grown-ups revel in the archival material such as Julia’s notebooks and the original artwork on display. There are buttons at toddler height; lots of opportunities for dressing up; and a house full of animals to get squashed and squeezed in. There’s a monster-sized Gruffalo and even a gruffalo stage with lots of costumes, and a juke box playing Julia’s songs – I think that’s one of Julia’s favourite displays.  It is very special to see so much original artwork by her illustrators: Axel Scheffler of course, and also Karen George, Emily Gravett, Lydia Monks, David Roberts and Nick Sharratt (who also figures prominently in Seven Stories other current exhibition about Jacqueline Wilson). One of my favorite bits is a  letter from Julia to her publisher about Room on the Broom, which was and is my dad’s favorite book to read to my two.  In it Julia asks for the witch to look more scatty as she’s come to realise the witch is based on her as far as putting things down and not remembering where she’s put them!  Another gem is the film entitled The Gruffalo’s Mum, a mini-documentary about Julia, with a specially written poem that she enacts to takes us through her day, with a few surprises along the way. I don’t think you can say “typical day” for Julia…

As Julia said in her speech to declare the exhibition open, she is “thrilled that it encapsulates some of my themes as Children’s Laureate” – namely music, drama and making stories accessible to deaf children. For Bessie-Belle, the partially deaf fairy in Julia’s Freddie and the Fairy guides visitors through the exhibition; Seven Stories has worked with ITV Signed Stories to produce signed films of some of the stories profiled; and visitors can learn to handsign book titles and key words from the stories.

Here’s a selection of photos from the day.  The good ones, with an asterisk, are kindly provided by Seven Stories.

I paused on my drive north for a coffee at the lovely White Rose Books in Thirsk and lo and behold, was straight into the Gruffalo theme…

First stop at Seven Stories: their bookshop…

One of the children at the opening was the real Charlie Cook.  Here he is with Julia.* I caught up with him surrounded by Joel Stewart’s gorgeous watercolours from The Magic Paintbrush and he showed me Julia’s signature in his favorite book:

Illustrators Axel Scheffler and Lydia Monks were there too and joined Julia in the theatre.* Axel kindly signed Older Brother’s 12-year-old copy of The Gruffalo, including a wee Gruffalo just for him (“Wow!  I’m going to learn to draw that now!”)… and Little Brother’s The Snail and the Whale (he was later thrilled to the point of unusual speechlessness at his wee snail); while Julia admired the jukebox.*

The first children to experience the exhibition definitely gave it their seal of approval, whether reading with Julia and Axel under the towering Gruffalo,* dressing up, or getting squashed and squeezed in the Old Lady’s house…

Then after our preview, we all went up to the Seven Stories attic, where a delicious spread awaited us.  Kate Edwards, Executive Director of Seven Stories, spoke eloquently of Julia’s achievements and what her work means to Seven Stories (a lot, including the Sharing Stories with Julia Donaldson project in collaboraton with non-profit Action for Children). Then Julia said a few words, pinched herself, and declared the exhibition open.

So no matter what a squash and a squeeze it might be to get there, some time between now and February next year, if you’re in the UK (IBBY conference, for example?), get yourself up to Newcastle for a visit to Seven Stories!

PS And the highlight of my day?  A 10-minute interview slot with Julia.  And my post about that is coming right up… here’s the link.

Have you already started? Or is your pile of books ready to go?  Who are you going to read to?  Who is going to read to you?  If you haven’t registered yet, head over to LitWorld right away…

We’ll be reading to each other in the car and at home, and imagining a world where everyone can read…

Press Release from LitWorld.org:

World Read Aloud Day: March 7, 2012
Take Action for Global Literacy, Celebrate the Power of Words, Change the World

Worldwide at least 793 million people remain illiterate.

Imagine a world where everyone can read…

World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.

By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their words to change the world.

It’s time to join the Global Literacy Movement.
Accomplished so far:
• Reached 35 countries and 40,000 participants on March 3, 2010
• Reached 60 countries and all 50 states and 200,000 participants on March 9, 2011
• Preparing for March 7, 2012: Let’s make it a million participants or more!

Register for World Read Aloud Day 2012 here and read the World Read Aloud Blog here. World Read Aloud Day’s activity page with free downloads and a picture book is here and info about spreading the word via social media with sample tweets etc. is here.

As you get ready to celebrate World Read Aloud Day 2012 check out the latest LitWorld video “What Would the World be Like if Everyone Could Read?”

I’m posting my week-end book review a day early to clock in with Poetry Friday as a couple of days ago I received a review copy of Kate Coombs and Meilo So‘s new book Water Sings Blue, which Kate gave us a glimpse of back in January when her first copies arrived (and if you don’t know Kate’s blog, Book Aunt, it’s well worth a read).  It arrived just in time to squeeze it into our Water in Multicultural Children’s Books theme…

Poetry Friday this week is hosted by Dori at Dori Reads…

Kate Coombs, illustrated by Meilo So,
Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems
Chronicle Books, 2012.

Ages 4-11

The finely tuned observation in both the poetry and illustrations of Water Sings Blue draws young readers into that world of the shoreline where time just seems to disappear and exploration offers up endless possibilities for discovery.  Kate Coombs’ poems are satisfyingly memorable, with their cohesive patterns of meter and rhyme that, nevertheless, contain plenty of surprises – like, for example, the alliteration and internal rhyming at the end of “Sand’s Story”, in which mighty rocks have turned to sand:

Now we grind and we grumble,
humbled and grave,
at the touch of our breaker
and maker, the wave.

… Not to mention the witty pun on “breaker”: and the gentle wit of Coomb’s verse also lights the imagination throughout this collection.

Turning the pages, readers encounter a vast array of sea characters, starting in the air with the seagull; then listening to “What the Waves Say” before diving down to meet the creatures of the deep: like the shy octopus author (think ink…), or the beautiful but self-absorbed fish whose tail and fins act as brushes, and who concludes his/her soliloquy with the wonderfully evocative: “I’m a water artist. / You wouldn’t understand.”  As well as creatures like sharks and jellyfish, there are poems about fascinating, less well-known fish – “Oarfish”, “Gulper Eel” and “Nudibranch”: they could become a follow-up project by themselves!  There’s also a deep-sea shipwreck, and back on the sea shore, a gnarled “Old Driftwood” telling stories “to all the attentive / astonished twigs”, and a property agent hermit crab with a salesman’s patter.

Bringing all the poems together in a visual feast are Meilo So’s gorgeous watercolors.  As well as her depiction of jewel-colored corals and waves in every shade of blue imaginable, her illustrations are clearly also influenced by direct observation of the shoreline around her Shetland Isle home, from fishermen’s cottages to diving gannets.

Just like in real beachcombing, young readers will lose track of time as they pore over So’s seashores for what they can find.

Water Sings Blue would be the perfect picture book to bring on a trip to the beach, wherever in the world that happened to be; and if young readers can’t wait for that, it will take them there immediately in their imaginations.

And just a reminder that the count-down to World Read Aloud Day on 7th March has more than begun.  LitWorld are aiming for 1,000,000 participants this year, so do register with them and tell all your friends about it too.  It’s a win-win-win situation – somebody gets to read, somebody gets to enjoy being read to, and everyone raises their voices together to support global literacy goals of every child’s right to education…  And if you’re spreading the word on Twitter, the hashtag is #readaloud – use it to link in to the ever-widening community of WRAD supporters, and connect with LitWorld at @litworldsays.