Share a Story – Shape a Future’s second annual Literacy Blog Tour started today, and this year’s theme is “It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader.” Now let’s show the world what being a virtual community of book lovers committed to helping kids become hungry readers really means, by joining in the conversation and sharing our personal stories and perspectives!

Today’s Literacy Blog Tour host is Terry Doherty @ Scrub-a-Dub-Tub. For a complete list of hosts and topics, see here. And check these for a taste of some of PaperTigers’ posts on literacy:

Thoughts on Literacy: Going Where the Children Are
Books at Bedtime: Win-Win!
Our Literacy Future

Established in 1992 by Nancy Traversy and Tessa Strickland, Barefoot Books is a children’s book publisher based in Bath, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. It publishes multicultural books that, in addition to providing high-quality content, pay great attention to art and design. One of the company’s core values is to use art and stories “to create deep and lasting connections—whether it’s a child and parent connecting over a book; a child connecting to the universal wisdom of other cultures; or a broad network of people connecting through shared values and the desire to help children become happy, engaged members of a global community.”

Tessa Strickland, Barefoot Books’ co-founder and editor-in-chief, answered our questions about Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing, one of the seven books selected for inclusion in our Spirit of PaperTigers Book Set Donation Project, and about other topics related to the company and to multicultural children’s literature.

Q&A

PT: How did Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing come about as a project for Barefoot Books?

TS: This project came about in quite a circuitous way. First, I was contacted by Clare Farrow, who wanted to know if I was interested in having her retell any traditional Chinese tales. In the course of our conversation, I learnt that she and her husband, Guo Yue, had just completed a manuscript about his life, Music, Food and Love. It so happened that this telephone conversation came about just as I was starting to cast around for stories for older readers, and I was fascinated by what Clare told me about Yue’s childhood in Beijing. So, I asked to read a copy of the manuscript.

PT: When you acquired the manuscript, did you know from the get go that you would publish it as an illustrated middle grade book, or was the decision regarding full plate illustrations made later in the process?

TS: When I read Music, Food and Love (Piatkus, 2006), I thought that the best way to tell Yue’s story to children would be to focus on the summer of 1966. The manuscript went through about four drafts and was a close collaboration between Yue and Clare, me, and an excellent editor, Anne Finnis. The decision to make full-plate illustrations was made once we had a manuscript that everyone was happy with.

PT: What can you tell us about the pairing of Guo Yue and Clare Farrow’s text with Helen Cann’s art?

TS: We have done a number of books with Helen Cann; I knew that she would be a delight to work with. Not only is she very talented, she is also extremely interested in developing her own style and in working
collaboratively. She had some very fruitful meetings and discussions with Clare and Yue, who were both extremely happy with her illustrations.

PT: How do you think the public’s attitude toward multicultural books for children has changed since Barefoot Books was founded, in 1992? Are there any major differences between the US and the UK markets in that regard?

TS: As Barefoot has always focused on multicultural books, it is hard to say with very much claim to objectivity how (more…)

The United Nations’ International Mother Language Day has been celebrated annually on February 21st, the anniversary of the Bengali Language Movement, since 2000. It is a time when people across the world join efforts to remember the power of language to preserve our cultures, and to raise awareness of the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity and multilingual education.

Organized for the occasion of this year’s IMLD, and in the framework of the 2010 International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures, an International Symposium on Translation and Cultural Mediation is happening today and tomorrow at the UNESCO House in Paris, covering themes such as “Bridging Global and Local Languages”, “Translation and Cultural Mediation” and “Translation, Mutual Understanding and Stereotypes”. Information sessions on languages and multilingualism will include one on the New Atlas of Endangered Languages, and a presentation entitled “Technology and the Mother Tongue: Friend or Foe?”.

In her official message as Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova speaks about the importance of language to create inclusion and promote peace:

Languages are the best vehicles of mutual understanding and tolerance. Respect for all languages is a key factor for ensuring peaceful coexistence, without exclusion, of societies and all of
their members.

Multilingualism, the learning of foreign languages and translation are three strategic axes for the language policies of tomorrow. On the occasion of this 11th International Mother Language Day, I am appealing to the international community to give the mother language, in each of these three axes, its rightful, fundamental place, in a spirit of respect and tolerance which paves the way for peace.

As IMLD grows in importance each year, more and more countries organize educational and cultural events related to mother languages, such as Endangered Languages Week, in the UK. Another example of a country that is embracing IMLD’s goals is Serbia, which, according to UNESCO’s website, will be marking the occasion this week by devoting one lesson in every school to mother languages.

For an an overview of UNESCO’s work on languages in all its areas of competencies, click here.

Founded in 1975, Children’s Book Press is a nonprofit independent publisher of multicultural and bilingual literature by and about people from the Latino, African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American communities. Their stories promote “lived and shared experiences of cultures who have been historically under-represented or misrepresented in children’s literature while also focusing on promoting inter-cultural and cross-cultural awareness for children of all backgrounds.”

Children’s Book Press is the publisher of The Storyteller’s Candle, one of the seven books selected for inclusion in our Spirit of PaperTigers Book Set Donation Project. Dana Goldberg, Executive Editor, answered my questions about the book and other topics related to multicultural children’s literature:

PT: How did The Storyteller’s Candle come about as a project for Children’s Book Press?

DG: Our former Executive Director approached Lucía Gonzalez at a conference, and they got to talking about Pura Belpré. The idea to do a book with Lucía about Pura came from that meeting.

PT: When you acquired Lucia’s manuscript, did you expect the book to be as successful as it’s turned out to be?

DG: We did have high expectations for the book. The manuscript was just perfect — Lucía is a master storyteller, so we knew the book would be reviewed favorably in that respect. We knew there would be significant interest on the part of librarians everywhere, and from the Latino community in general. Pura was so influential to so many people, to so many generations of children. From the very beginning we had an inkling we had a hit on our hands.

PT: Did you consider other illustrators for the book, or was Lulu Delacre the most natural choice? What can you tell us about the pairing up of Lucia’s work with Lulu’s art?

DG: It was Lucía’s idea to approach Lulu, since the two of them had worked together before on the The Bossy Gallito and Senor Cat’s Romance and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America. It seemed very natural to bring those two amazingly talented women together again for this particular book. Pura Belpré was the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York, and Lucía felt very connected to her because she too is a librarian and a storyteller, and Lulu had the connection of being from Puerto Rico and having the firsthand cultural knowledge that goes along with the story.

PT: How do you think the public’s attitude toward multicultural and bilingual books for children has changed since CBP was founded, in 1975? (more…)

We’ve blogged about the fantastic donkey library in Ethiopia – well, here’s another one, this one in Colombia. Corinne has talked in the past about her love of donkeys so I know she will love this – and I’m sure you will too!

Reading Today Daily, a bimonthly magazine published by the International Reading Association, recently reported:

Everyone at PaperTigers is excited about our new Spirit of PaperTigers project which involves the donation of a book set to children in schools and through libraries all over the world.  Such excitement is infectious and as a result of our launch of this new project, we have received news of many other similar projects.  One such project is Big Brother Mouse based in Laos.  Janet Brown, a former contributor to PaperTigers, wrote a wonderful post on Big Brother Mouse last year.  Do check it out!

This week PaperTigers launched its Spirit of PaperTigers Project (SPT) which involves the donating of book sets for children to libraries and schools in developing countries.   With the recent earthquake in Haiti, people’s hearts and minds are focused on how they can assist this particular developing country in this time of need.  When asked about where author of one of the SPT book set titles, Bolormaa Basaansen, would like her books sent, she said:

I would like to send it to every country in the world! But right now, I would like to send it to Haiti, most of all. Now, after the earthquake, its people, especially the children, are going through very hard times.  I like to imagine the children of Haiti forgetting their current hardships even just for a moment, by immersing themselves in a picture book.

It is true that even ‘just for a moment,’ books can provide a release and so much more.   And the ’so much more’ part of the equation is what the SPT project is all about.  After all the aid and rescue teams have departed from Haiti, its citizens will have to begin anew the task of rebuilding their society.    Goals like providing a basic education for its children and increasing literacy will become more apparent in the coming months and years of recovery ahead.

Two weeks ago,  I mentioned IBBY’s Fund for Children in Crisis.  They have a project in Haiti with ongoing and current news available on their website.  Other organizations that have come to my attention for their work in Haiti on the educational front are EMAS (Educational Medical Aid Society) and Yéle Haiti.  Perhaps you know of organizations like these that are doing good work in Haiti.  Leave us a link in the comments section to share a website of an organization you know of that promotes education and literacy in developing countries like Haiti.  While it has not yet been determined where the SPT book sets will go — there are considerations of language since the SPT books are in English — places like Haiti will be the target locations.

Giving books to children may seem like a small step but it is a step that PaperTigers feels worth taking through this special Spirit of PaperTigers outreach initiative.

Today we are thrilled to be announcing our Spirit of PaperTigers Project, an initiative of Pacific Rim Voices, whose aim is to promote literacy while raising awareness of our common humanity. The idea is to donate 100 book sets of 7 carefully selected multicultural books to libraries and schools in areas of need across the globe.

The following titles have been selected for inclusion in the 2010 Book Set:

Planting The Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai, by Claire A. Nivola. Frances Foster Books, 2008.

First Come the Zebra, by Lynne Barash. Lee & Low, 2009.
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Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing, by Guo Yue and Clare Farrow, illustrated by Helen Cann. Barefoot Books, 2008.

The Storyteller’s Candle/La velita de los cuentos, by Lucia Gonzalez, illustrated by Lulu Delacre. Children’s Book Press, 2008.

My Little Round House, by Bolormaa Baasansuren, English adaptation by Helen Mixter. Groundwood Books, 2009.

One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, by Katie Smith Milway, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes. Kids Can Press, 2008.

Where The Mountain Meets The Moon, by Grace Lin. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009.

Our website currently highlights all the authors and illustrators whose books have been selected, as well as other features related to the project. Please note that we will be further exploring the particular reasons for selecting each title, here, on the blog, during the month of February.

One important aspect of the Spirit of PaperTigers project is that we will be receiving feedback from the book set recipients. In the course of the coming months, as feedback comes in, we will be posting it to the blog and the site, so everyone can find out about where the books are going and who they are reaching.

To learn more about the project and enjoy the new features, visit the website. And please help us spread the word on this exciting new venture!…

Filipino editor, English teacher and Cybil judge Tarie Sabido is a great source on what is happening with respect to literature in the Philippines. She contributed to to our recent PaperTigers Focus on the Philippines issue with  her interviews with authors Carla Pacis, Dorina Lazo Gilmore and Edna Cabcabin Moran. Tarie’s blog Into the Wardrobe is always a great read. She has now launched another blog Asia in the the Heart, World on the Mind which is a “children’s and young adult blog about books set in Asia and books with Asian characters (regardless of where they are published and whether or not their authors and illustrators are Asian), and Asian authors and illustrators (no matter where they are in the world).”