November is National Adoption Awareness Month in the U.S. and I have just read Allen Say’s book, Allison (Houghton Mifflin, 1997), which is the heart-rendingly beautiful story of a little girl’s own sudden awareness of her adopted status and its consequences.

When little Allison’s grandmother sends her a kimono to wear, she suddenly realises that with her straight, dark hair, she looks more like her beloved Japanese doll Mei Mei than her (adoptive) parents. She wants to know where her Mommy and Daddy are, and why they didn’t want her. Despite her parents’ reassurances of their love for her, Allison comes close to rejecting them and her behavior reflects her inner turmoil. It takes a stray cat to help her get her life back into kilter and realise that she is part of a loving family which now numbers five, with Allison herself, her Mommy and Daddy, Mei Mei, and now also a no-longer-stray cat.

Allison’s hurt and anger are sensitively reflected in the illustrations through Say’s depiction of facial expressions and body-language. He doesn’t gloss over how hard it can be for parents to respond rationally either, and this adds to the story’s emotional depth. This is indeed a powerful and poignant book!

For other books about adoption, see these posts written last year by Aline and me; and do also read this thought-provoking post over at the Third Mom blog.

Phew, just made it! Where have the last two weeks disappeared to? Anyway, I’ve made my nominations for the Cybils - and if you haven’t yet, you have until 11.59 p.m. tomorrow…

So here’s my list:

Fiction Picture Books:

I nominated Naomi’s Tree by Joy Kogawa

… on my list were also Erika-San by Allen Say (Houghton Mifflin, 2009) – nominated by Kara of Not Just for Kids;
and Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore, illustrated by Kristi Valiant (Shen’s Books, 2009) – nominated by Renee of Shen’s Blog;

…and I especially want to look out:
First Come the Zebra by Lynne Barasch (Lee & Low, 2009) – nominated by Hannah from the Lee & Low Blog
Hook by Ed Young (Roaring Book Press, 2009) – nominated by Susannah of Raab Associates
My African Bedtime Rhymes by Brettell Hone (Shamwari Publishing, 2009) – nominated by Ginger Nielson;
Crow Call by Lois Lowry – nominated by Kristine at The Best Book I Haven’t Read
My Abuelita by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Harcourt Children’s Books, 2009) – nominated by Lynn E. Hazen
…and the list continues!

Middle Grade Fiction:

I nominated Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan (Groundwood, 2009)

…and must seek out Brushing Mom’s Hair by Andrea Cheng (Wordsong, 2009) – nominated by Linda at Swell Books
and Journey of Dreams by Marge Pellegrino (Frances Lincoln, 2009) – nominated by Janni… and more!

Non-fiction/Information Picture Books:

I nominated My Japan by Etsuko Watanabe

…and great to see already nominated:
Balarama: A Royal Elephant by Ted and Betsy Lewin (Lee and Low, 2009) – nominated by Miri at Wands and Worlds;
Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Susan Roth, (Dial, 2009) – nominated by Maggi at Mama Librarian;
Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo (Lee & Low, 2009) – nominated by Jama at Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup.

I want to read:
The East-West House: Noguchi’s Childhood in Japan by Christy Hale (Lee & Low, 2009);
The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland Desaix (Holiday House, 2009);
Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley (Putnam Juvenile, 2009) – nominated by Elaine Magliaro at Wild Rose Reader;
Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter – nominated by Sherry at Semicolon;
Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life: A Story of Sustainable Farming by Jan Reynolds (Lee & Low, 2009).

Non-Fiction – middle/teen:

I nominated Let There Be Peace: Prayers from Around the World by Jeremy Brooks, illustrated by Jude Daly (Frances Lincoln, 2009)

…already nominated: After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance by Anne Sibley O’Brien and Perry Edmond O’Brien (Charlesbridge, 2009) – I’m in the process of writing a review for this superb book and will add a link soon…
and Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the World… One Child at a Time (The Young Reader’s Edition) by Greg Mortenson (Puffin Young Readers, 2009).

Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown and Company, 2009) has been nominated in the Fantasy/Science Fiction section by Emily Reads; and John Agard’s The Young Inferno would have been my poetry nomination but Sherry got there first!

I’ve realised that I have read very little newly-published YA fiction this year so I haven’t made a nomination there either – but it’s good to see Mitali Perkins’ Secret Keeper in there, nominated by Sarah at Archimedes Forgets (what a wonderful name for a blog!); and I do have a copy of Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger (Margaret K. McElderry, 2009) in my to-be-read pile (nominated by R. J. Anderson)…

So it looks like I’m going to be busy enough – I can’t imagine how the judges are going to manage to read all the nominees. And after tomorrow, we’ll be waiting with baited breath to find out the shortlists, published on 1st January…

Today the organizers of The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, given annually to books and works that reflect the spirit of Astrid Lindgren, have announced the 168 candidates nominated for the 2010 award (to download the nomination list as a pdf, click here).

The list of writers, illustrators, oral storytellers and literacy-related organizations, working in various literary traditions and languages, represents more than 60 countries and is a treasure trove of talent and commitment to books and reading.

In addition to author Allen Say and author/promoter of literacy Greg Mortenson, proudly nominated by us, the list includes, among many others, New Zealander author Margaret Mahy; Australian Hazel Edwards; South African Niki Daly; Mongolian writer/poet/promoter of reading Dashdondog Jamba and Filipino illustrator Albert Gamos. And for organizations promoting reading and literacy, it lists IBBY International; Room to Read, in the U.S.; Filipino publishing house Adarna; La Fundación Riecken from Guatemala, and many more.

Considering all these strong candidates, it looks like the jury members have their work cut out for them. Their decision will be a hard one to reach—but reach it they will (and expertly so)! The winner or winners will be announced in Vimmerby, Sweden (the birthplace of Astrid Lindgren) on March 24, 2010, and the announcement will be broadcast live to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, in Italy (which next year will take place March 23-25).

(Click on event name for more information)

Skipping Stones Youth Honor Award Winners Announced

Western Australia Spring Poetry Festival and National Poetry Week~ ongoing until Sep 4, Australia

Taranaki Children’s Book Festival~ ongoing until Sep 5, Taranaki, New Zealand

Enchanted Worlds – Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ ongoing until Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

National Literacy and Numeracy Week~ ongoing until Sep 6, Australia

Singapore International Storytelling Festival~ ongoing until Sep 12, Singapore

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ ongoing until Sep 27, Nishinomiya City, Japan

Entries Accepted for the 2010 PBBY-Salanga Prize~ ongoing until Oct 23, Philippines

Exhibition – Drawings from the Heart: Tomie de Paola Turns 75 ~ ongoing until Nov 1, Amherst, MA, USA

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Moscow International Book Fair~ Sep 2 – 7, Moscow, Russia

Their Magical Years: a National Workshop on Early Childhood Learning and Development~ Sep 3 – 5, New Delhi, India

Beijing International Book Fair~ Sep 3 – 7, Beijing, China

Munsch a Bunch of Miles for Literacy~ Sep 3 – 11, Canmore, AB, Canada

Decatur Book Festival~ Sep 4 – 6, Decatur, GA, USA

heARTlines: Children’s Literature and Book Illustration Festival ~ Sep 4 – Oct 4, Mundaring, Australia

22nd Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava~ Sep 4 – Oct 26, Bratislava, Slovakia

International Literacy Day~ Sep 8

UNESCO Literary Prize Awards Presentation~ Sep 8, Paris, France

Brisbane Writers Festival~ Sep 9 – 13, Brisbane, Australia

International Children’s and Youth Literature Festival~ Sep 9 – 13, Berlin, Germany

The Kennedy Center’s 13th Annual Multicultural Children’s Book Festival~ Sep 12, Washington, D.C., USA

CYA later, Alligator – Children’s and Young Adult Writers And Illustrators Conference~ Sep 12, Brisbane, Australia

57th St. Children’s Book Fair~ Sep 13, Chicago, IL, USA

10th Annual Hog Wild About Reading: A Motorcycle Ride For Literacy~ Sep 13, Port Moody, BC, Canada

Book Blogger Appreciation Week~ Sep 14 – 18

Hispanic Heritage Month~ Sep 15 – Oct 15, USA

The Manila International Book Fair: Words Without Borders~ Sep 16 – 20, Manila, Philippines

The Art of Allen Say: A Sense of Place~ Sep 16 – Oct 28, Exeter, NH, USA

2010 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Nominees Announced~ Sep 17, Sweden

International Symposium: Beyond Borders: Art, Narrative and Culture in Picturebooks~ Sep 18 – 20, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Bath Festival of Children’s Literature~ Sep 18 – 27, Bath, United Kingdom

Tamejavi – Our Voice, Our Stories: A Path to Inclusion~ Sep 19, Fresno, CA, USA

Eden Mills Writers’ Festival~ Sep 20, Eden Mills, ON, Canada

Thin Air – Winnipeg International Writers Festival~ Sep 20 – 27, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

International Day of Peace~ Sep 21

The 4th World Summit on Arts and Culture~ Sep 22 – 25, Johannesburg, South Africa

Canwest Raise-a-Reader Day~ Sep 23, Canada

25th Annual Göteborg Book Fair~ Sep 24 – 27, Göteborg, Sweden

Darling Children’s Book Fair~ Sep 24 – 26, Darling, South Africa

Reading Association of Ireland’s Annual International Conference: Literacy in the 21st Century: Perspectives, Challenges & Transformations~ Sep 24 – 26, Dublin, Ireland

Margarita Engle ~ Finding the Poetry in History~ Sep 25, Fresno, CA, USA

Wigtown Book Festival~ Sep 25 – Oct 4, Wigtown, United Kingdom

The Children’s Bookshow: Picture Books and Poetry ~Sep 25 – Nov 25, United Kingdom

National Book Festival~ Sep 26, Washington, D.C., USA

Children’s Book Seminar – SCBWI at UP Visayas 2009~ Sep 26, Iloilo City, Philippines

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read~ Sep 26 – Oct 3, USA

The Word on the Street National Book and Magazine Festival: Celebrating Reading. Advocating Literacy. ~ Sep 27, Canada

New Zealand Reading Association 2009 Conference~ Sep 27 – 30, Queenstown, New Zealand

Last month’s PaperTigers issue featured illustrator Allen Say.  I reviewed one of his picture books Music for Alice for a previous post; this time I would like to take a look at a book of his aimed for a young adult audience, The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice.  In this autobiographical novel, a Japanese boy of thirteen, Kiyoi, decides to apprentice himself to a master cartoonist in Tokyo named Noro Shimpei.  The story is set in post-war Japan when life was difficult, especially for aspiring artists.  Noro Shimpei is an eccentric but generous master; he takes on not only Kiyoi but Tokida, a street-savvy boy from Osaka who has ran away from home to study with him.  The two boys make an odd pair — Kiyoi from a genteel family, Tokida from a rough-and-tumble one — learning from a master who regularly moves studios and has odd teaching techniques.

The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice is a coming-of-age story.  Kiyoi struggles with his secret desire to be an artist — an occupation he knows his family will not approve of, especially his guardian grandmother who is very conscious of the family’s class and status.  Kiyoi also begins to become aware of his sexuality.  When he goes for the first time to a life drawing class featuring a nude model, he remarks wryly:  No matter what Tokida said, staring at a grown, naked woman on a platform wasn’t natural.  It was exciting.  I began to think perhaps I should become a painter so I could have models in my studio.  The thought made my ears hot.

It’s Kiyoi’s tone-of-voice that I particularly liked in this novel.  Mature and reflective, and at the same time playfully aware of a younger, wonder-filled self, Kiyoi is a compelling narrator of his circumstances.  Although Allen Say may be better known as an illustrator, I think he is a fine writer as well.   The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice is a very good read.

This year for the first time, PaperTigers was invited to submit nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. We have just heard that the jury is now sifting through the nominations and that the complete list will be made public on 25 September at the Gothenburg Book Fair; it will also be on their website so we’ll let you know when it’s available.

In the meantime, here are our “Grounds for Nomination” statements for artist and author, Allen Say, and author and promoter of education in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Greg Mortenson.

Often drawing on his own background, Allen Say captivates his readers through beautifully honed prose and luminous watercolors. He embraces a striving for happiness with a blend of gentle humor and realism, and touches on many aspects of being human, such as race, migration, disability and age. Even young children can empathize with and find echoes in many of his stories. Say opens young hearts and minds both to new cultures and to their own potential; and his portrayal of the human condition provides a forum for children to recognize their own value and to dream.

Allen Say is featured in a Gallery in our current issue of PaperTigers, and offers some fascinating insight into his latest book, Erika-San. You can also read an interview with him, in which he talks about his semi-autobiographical book for young adults, The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice, as well as some of his other picture-books. Sally recently chose his Music for Alice for a Books at Bedtime post.

Greg Mortenson is a humanitarian whose motto is “Books, not Bombs.” Since 1993 he has been committed to promoting and supporting education and literacy (with an emphasis on girls’ education) in rural, underserved regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Through his work as co-founder/Executive Director of the Central Asia Institute, as of May 2009, he has established over 78 schools, supported the training of 600+ teachers and offered scholarships to hundreds of disadvantaged students, thus providing education to over 28,000 children (including 18,000 girls) who would otherwise have no opportunities.

Greg Mortenson is also founder of the Pennies For Peace program and author of the Kiriyama Prize-winning book Three Cups of Tea, which has been translated into 29 languages. It has been adapted into a version for young adults and a beautiful picture-book, Listen to the Wind, illustrated with wonderful collages by Susan L. Roth.

Please do share with us your thoughts and comments about our two nominations – we’d love to hear from you.

I’m a big fan of Allen Say so I was happy to see him featured recently in our Illustrators’ Gallery. I’ve read a number of his books but one I enjoyed recently was Music for Alice.  Alice is a Japanese American woman who loves to dance, but circumstances in her life prevent her from enjoying this dream to the full.  Born in California, Alice grows up, goes to college and marries a man named Mark who “wasn’t much of a dancer” and moves to Seattle, Washington.  Not long afterwards, the war comes, and Alice and Mark are sent to Portland, Oregon and are then removed inland to work farm fields on the eastern edge of the state.  Such hardship was difficult and as Alice puts it “Even the thought of dancing didn’t cheer me very much.”  The couple survive, however, and go on to buy a farm of their own on which they grow various crops until they hit upon the idea of growing flowers — gladioli — to be specific, and become the largest gladiola bulb growers in the U.S.

All throughout the book as Alice recounts her life, she reflects occasionally on her love of dancing.  Only at the end of the book and the end of her life, does she suddenly come to an epiphany.  Looking on the ruins of her old farm house, she is overcome by a “wonderful feeling” that makes her suddenly exclaim, “Now I can dance!”  And as the book concludes, “And dance I do — all that I can.”

Music for Alice is an old woman’s meditation on the past.  Old age is its own frontier, and there are still things to learn and discover there.  Allen Say’s superb, nuanced illustrations evoke Alice’s life with clarity and depth.  I highly recommend his picture books which make wonderful reading for children and adults.

Inspired by the PaperTigers website current focus on literacy, Janet and I have been blogging about the topic recently, and one of the points that have come up is how children nowadays might be literate in ways that we adults have yet to explore. These thoughts and resulting comments reminded me of an interview Marjorie did with artist and illustrator Allen Say, in which he credits kamishibai, a traditional form of paper theater storytelling, as the source of much of his childhood happiness. Between the 1920s and 1950s in Japan, it was common to see kamishibai storytellers pedaling their bicycles, equipped with small stages. They would stop at street corners, or wherever children gathered, to sell candies and tell stories—often in installments, to keep kids coming back for more.

When TV first appeared in Japan, in the 1950’s, the kamishibai men started disappearing from the streets, and the medium, first referred to as “electronic kamishibai, was received with a lot of skepticism. Considered by many as the precursor of manga, kamishibai now exists in electronic format, for use on a computer (and why not, if the idea is to go where the children are?!), and its traditional format has seen a revival in schools and libraries in Japan. I’ve even heard of high-tech people using it as a presentation device, instead of –gasp!– powerpoint, praising it as a simple, engaging and very effective tool for presenting ideas.

Marjorie writes in her review of Allen Say’s exquisite book, Kamishibai Man—a book that was 32 years in gestation: “Jiichan returns home at the end of the day–a day which has been caught on film and broadcast via the very medium that brought about the demise of kamishibai…” and her words reveal one of the ideas the author alludes to in his story: “how innovation and change can appear threatening but through time and adjustment there is room for all.”

For more on Kamishibai:

http://www.janmstore.com/kamishibai.html
http://www.kamishibai.com/history.html

One event I will be missing this year, being on the wrong side of the Atlantic, is the exhibition of Allen Say’s work to celebrate his 70th birthday, which is currently running at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art – but if you can get to Amherst, Massachusetts before 28 October, I should imagine it would be well worth doing so. Writer, Lois Lowry certainly recommends it…

We love reading Say’s books together. Particular favorites are Under the Cherry Blossom Tree: An Old Japanese Tale, which appeals especially to my younger son’s sense of the absurd; and Kamishibai Man, which has inspired my older son to create his own storyboards. We also read Home of the Brave recently, following the discussions arising from A Place Where Sunflowers Grow. Say’s rich illustrations here and the slightly abstract conveying of the story stretch young children into asking questions… the bedtime storytime can certainly be drawn out beyond the deceptive brevity of the story. As Karen Edmisten says, it is “not a happy book but an excellent one”.

Podcast Just One More Book has reviewed Emma’s Rug and I think they sum up Say’s work as a whole when they say: (more…)